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AGRICULTURAL SERIES NO. I I 



AGRICULTURAL SERIES NO. I I 



UNITED STATES RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION UNITED STATES RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 



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WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 



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Messages from State Officials 



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Olympia, Washington. 

After an examination of the copy of the Wash- 
ington Booklet, with particular reference to agri- 
culture, I desire to commend the fairness and 
accuracy of the statements contained therein, as 
well as the lucid presentation of the subject. 




Acting Governor. 

Pullman, Washington. 

The new settler and the established farmer as 
well, daily encounters problems relating to the farm 
and home, which cannot be solved out of their own 
experience or that of their neighbors. Where crop 
raising is the principal business, the settler wonders 
what varieties are best ; while the farmer experienced 
locally looks for better varieties, methods of improve- 
ment in the varieties grown, and for more efficient 
management of crops and soils. Where fruit grow- 
ing is the important industry, similar problems and 
a multitude of others are encountered, such as 
when and what to spray, when to prune, or how to 
market with profit. Where the production of beef, 
pork, mutton and wool, poultry-, or dair>' products 
is emphasized, it must be decided what crops are 
best for feed, what crops should be grown for silage, 
what feed or combination of feeds will be least 
expensive and give best results, and how the flocks 
and herds are to be protected from disease. When 
these and other primary^ problems are solved, the 
more complex, such as what cash crops should be 
featured, what crop systems will maintain fertility 
and be most productive, what is the cost of producing 
the farm products as compared with the selling 
price, what profits can be legitimately expected, 
and other similar fundamental questions, must be 
considered. 

The Washington Experiment Station is ready and 
willing to help every farmer answer these questions. 
Its work is done at six distinct stations, operating 
as a unit and so located as best to meet the problems 
peculiar to the outstanding agricultural areas. The 
Washington State College, of which the experiment 
station is an important part, maintains a large corps 
of practical men and women, farm raised and well 
trained to do this work, and to give to the boys and 
girls of the State who come to the college an educa- 
tion which is both liberal and practical. In addi- 
tion, through its extension service, it brings to every 



farm the truths organized and developed by the 
experiment stations so that they may be applied in 
a practical way. 

I take pleasure in commending the contents of 
this publication, prepared by representatives of the 
Washington State Agricultural College, Agricultural 
Section United States Railroad Administration, and 
others. 

To those who come to occupy lands herein de- 
scribed, a most hearty welcome is extended with an 
assurance of ability and readiness to serve in the 
most effective way. 




Dean and Director, Agricultural 
College and Experiment Station. 



Olympia, Washington. 

I have read the contents of this booklet and am 
pleased to note that so much care has been taken in 
presenting the facts regarding the various districts 
of this State. It is extremely difficult, if not impos- 
sible, to picture the resources and conditions of a 
covmtry to people who have never seen it. This 
State contains practically no homestead lands that 
are worth taking up; the opportunities for new set- 
tlers are chiefly of three kinds: (1) In the wheat- 
growing districts of Eastern Washington, the pur- 
chasing and subdividing of the large farms already 
in cultivation. (2) In the irrigated districts of 
Central Washington. The lands now under ditch 
are practically all owned and improved, and oppor- 
tunities in these districts are limited to the pur- 
chasing of improved or partially improved lands, or 
getting raw lands under the irrigation projects not 
yet constructed, but on many of which preliminary 
work is far advanced and immediate construction is 
expected. (3) The logged-off lands of both Eastern 
and Western Washington. These lands, while 
cheap in price, are very expensive to put in culti- 
vation, and no prospective settler should be invited 
to tackle the job of clearing these lands without 
being fully apprised of the difficulties and expense 
incident to this kind of work. 




D., Of •'• 



Commissioner of Agriculture. 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




This farmer is making a good start by growing strawberries between the young fruit trees, until the bearing stage of the trees is reached 



Washington 



Washington, styled the "Evergreen State" con- 
tains about 42,775,000 acres of land, more than 
one-half being now held in private ownership. Of 
the titled acres probably 7,000,000 are improved, a 
considerable portion of the same being farmed, and 
about 3,000,000 unimproved, but suitable for farm- 
ing when reclaimed. The remaining areas of 
Washington are in state land grants, unappro- 
priated federal lands and reserves. 

The altitude ranges from sea level in the West 
to 10,000 and 14,000 feet in peaks of the Cascades, 
500 to 1,500 feet in the irrigated valleys, 1,000 to 
2,000 feet in the tablelands and 2,000 to 2,600 feet 
near the eastern boundary. 

The climate of Washington is peculiarly suited 
to agriculture, horticulture, and to extensive live stock 
production. The weather here is not extreme. This is 
due to the effect of the mild air currents of the 
Pacific Ocean which spread their influence over the 
entire State. 

Washington is almost equally divided in area by 
the Cascade Mountains. The Western portions 



seldom experience freezing weather, and plants, 
shrubs and grass often remain green during the 
entire year. Roses often bloom until Christmas 
and spring flowers blossom in January. 

The Eastern section experiences more substantial 
winter weather, with light snow falls and short 
periods of sharp, freezing weather. Ice from the 
lakes and streams is consequently undependable 
and the large cities manufacture this product for 
summer use or ship it in from mountain lakes. 
There are no blizzards or cyclones, and frequent 
"Chinook" winds melt the snow soon after it falls. 
The precipitation in Eastern Washington ranges, 
according to altitude, from nine inches at 1,000 
feet to approximately 16 to 24 inches in the higher 
elevations of the Eastern and Northern parts of the 
State; 80 per cent of this falling between October and 
May, which, on account of little frost in the ground, 
is usually absorbed and conserved for producing 
crops. 

The well defined fruit, grain, grass, sugar beet, 
hops, and hay areas of the midstate valleys are 



WASHINGTON THE EVERGREEN STATE 




Washington holds the world record for the production of wheat per acre. Yields of forty-five 
to fifty-five bushels per acre are common — note the height of this wheat 



semi-arid in character but well supplied with irriga- 
tion from the numerous mountain lakes and streams. 

There are full grown men and women in this 
State to whom both thunder and lightning are 
totally unknown. The lowest mean temperature, 
that of January for Seattle and Tacoma, is 39 
degrees, Walla Walla 33 degrees and Spokane 27 
degrees. These three places represent the West, 
the East and central portions of Washington. The 
Southwest may be gauged from Seattle and Tacoma. 
Thirty years' records show the mean temperature 
for June, July, August and September to be, Seattle 
and Tacoma, 61 degrees, Spokane 65 degrees and 
Walla Walla 68 degrees. Hot nights are rarely 
known in any portion of the state. 

The soils are as varied as its climate, altitude 
and precipitation. Many regions have several 
different kinds, and while the new settler from the 
East will be unable to recognize soils similar to 
those of the East, he will soon learn to recognize 
the value of the volcanic ash, decomposed basalt 
and Western clay soils. They are, as a rule, deep, 
rich in mineral plant food, easily tilled and always 
responsive to proper treatment. 

The climate, altitude, rainfall or irrigation possi- 
bilities are generally of as much importance in crop 
production as the actual content of the soil. Never- 



theless, careful surveys and soil analyses have been 
made of all the agricultural sections of the state, 
and the State Experiment Station is always glad 
to assist the farmer in the best method of soil 
management. 

Virgin forests cover approximately 16,000,000 
acres within the State, two-thirds of which are 
included in eleven National Reserves for the neces- 
sities of future generations. It is estimated that 
four hundred billion board feet of lumber are now 
in the standing timber of these forests, in varieties 
of fir, cedar, yellow pine, hemlock and spruce. 
"Washington Fir" and cedar predominate in 
Western Washington, while white spruce and pine 
are the usual types found in the Eastern portion. 

Approximately 50 per cent of the State's manu- 
factures are shingles and lumber, and this will 
continue for many years to come. For ten years 
past this State has led all others in these products, 
represented by an annual output of 4,000,000 board 
feet of lumber. 

FRUIT GROWING 

Fruit growing in Washington refers to deciduous 
fruits, but especially to commercial apples. The evo- 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




A few of Washington's products. The State produces some of the finest flavored fruits in the country, 

of an endless variety 



lution of fruit raising in this State has established the 
success of fruits for which natural conditions are best 
adapted. Natural conditions of soil and climate are 
the foundation on which fruit raising rests. Many 
sections of the State have specialized on different 
kinds of fruit, such as apples, prunes, strawberries, 
and raspberries of several kinds. 

Commercial apple production is confined largely 
to the irrigated valleys at the eastern foot of the 
Cascade Mountains and several protected areas in 
the eastern part of the State. Among the most 
famous and successful districts in the order named 
are the Yakima Valley, Wenatchee Valley. Okanogan 
Valley, Spokane Valley, Walla Walla Valley, Lake 
Chelan and Methow Valley, and White Salmon 
Valley. 

The importance of apple production may be seen 
in the shipments from the State, which in 1918 
amounted to 19,000 carloads of 750 boxes each, the 
State standing second in the United States, while in 
1917 Washington stood first of all the states. The 
State shipped other fruits in 1918 as follows: Peaches 
1,028 carloads, pears 2,618 cars, fresh plums and 
prunes 706 cars, sweet cherries 460 cars, sour cherries 
28 cars, apricots 199 cars, grapes 52 cars, small fruits 
and berries 733 cars, dried prunes 500 cars. 

Notwithstanding that this State is commonly 



thought of by many people as a fruit state, the area 
of land devoted to this industry is comparatively 
small. The industry is continually expanding as 
market and distribution expands. The State stood 
first in price to the producer in 1918. 

The development of fruit raising in Washington 
has been truly phenomenal, as the industry was 
begun after older states had established their pro- 
duction and become intrenched in the great markets 
of the country. In the face of this competition 
Washington apple growers have developed their 
orchards through the growing and non-producing 
period, met the handicap of long hauls to the prin- 
cipal markets, and produced a superior quality of 
fruit which now commands the highest prices in all 
domestic markets, and on account of the continuous 
production of never-failing crops have reached the 
stage when Washington, the State, has ranked first 
in production of all the states but always near the 
top. 

Within a quarter of a century, and in some in- 
stances a shorter time, now famous apple-growing 
districts have been transformed from a useless waste 
of sagebrush and desert into orchards whose product 
brings returns of great value, probably in many 
instances the greatest value of any important area 
in the United States. These results are for the 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




Campus and buildings of the State College. Washington has made ample and permanent provision for its 

educational system 



most part due to natural adaptability of soil and 
climate and the application and control of water by 
irrigation and experienced care of the orchards. In 
several of these apple-growing districts crop failure 
is entirely unknown. 

Many good opportunities are presented in the 
frmt growing districts to purchase bearing orchards 
at reasonable prices or orchards soon to mature to 
bearing age. No industry in the State has proven 
more satisfactory to its owners than fruit growing, 
either from the standpoint of income or from the 
standpoint of home environment and pleasure of 
the occupation. 



EDUCATIONAL 

The early residents of Washington made ample 
and permanent provision for a system of education 
that would be a credit to any state in the Union. 
Definite provision was made for the construction, 
equipment and use of rural schools, not alone for 
school work as commonly understood, but also for 
rural commimity development, and as a result the 
rural schools are rapidly becoming commimity 
centers around which a high type of citizenship is 
developing. 



As the regular school work closes in the early 
simimer, provision has been made through the 
Smith-Hughes Act and Boys' and Girls' Club work 
for agricultural and home economics training dur- 
ing the summer months, under proper supervision, 
for thousands of boys and girls. 

The spirit of education is probably nowhere 
better illustrated than in many of the high schools, 
where complete four year courses of instruction 
are offered. Many of the high schools are also 
offering regular courses in manual training, home 
economics, agriculture, music and art. 

State Normal Schools are established at Cheney, 
Ellensburg and Bellingham. The State College is 
located at Pullman, and the University -at Seattle. 
There are also a large number of private schools 
and colleges. 

Agricultural assistance is given to the farmers, 
fruit growers and stockmen by means of farmers' 
institutes, agricultural extension schools, gas engine 
schools, conferences, community fairs, lectures, 
demonstrations and literature sent out by the college 
and federal government, so that no new settler 
need fail, regardless of his ignorance of local prob- 
lems, for the lack of information. 

The State College, in co-operation with the 
United States Department of Agriculture, employs 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




Hogs and alfalfa are a combination that is hard to beat and the State has the feed and climatic conditions 

to produce pork economically and abundantly 



specialists in animal husbandry, dairying, soils, 
crops, farm accounts, horticulture, home economics, 
poultry husbandry, plant diseases, insect pests, 
veterinary science, marketing, drainage, and engi- 
neering, who are continually at the call of the 
farmers, fruit growers, and stockmen in the solving 
of their problems. County agricultural agents are 
co-operatively employed by practically all of the 
counties, and devote their entire time to assisting the 
farmers in the solving of the agricultural and com- 
munity problems and in the aiding of new settlers 
in the location of desirable lands. Home demon- 
stration agents are assisting the housewives in the 
working out of the many home problems. Boys' 
and girls' club leaders are now employed on part or 
full time in twenty-one of the counties of the State, 
and are training the girls in home economic prob- 
lems, and the boys in growing and marketing of crops 
and in the production, feeding, and care of live stock. 
A state reclamation bill, recently passed by the 
legislature, provides for the development of the 
agricultural resources and the reclamation of arid, 
swamp, overflow and logged off lands. A revolving 
fund of $500,000 is created for the investigation and 
surveys of proposed land reclamation districts, and 
if found meritorious the board is empowered to pur- 
chase bonds of the districts and enable the land 



owner to proceed with development work. Addi- 
tional funds will be provided by a one-half mill tax 
levy which will enable the State to encourage land 
development projects in co-operation with the 
Federal Government, or without any aid from the 
Government, if necessary. 

General Farming 

While the farms of Washington are already pro- 
ducing annually millions of dollars worth of agri- 
cultural products, including wheat, fruit, wool, 
live stock, vegetables, poultry and dairy products, 
one familiar with the agricultural possibilities 
recognizes at once the unlimited opportunities 
for increased production by means of a better sys- 
tem of farm management; the introduction of certain 
forage crops for summer fallow lands, the improve- 
ment of agricultural practices; the increasing in 
area of many of the irrigation projects and the build- 
ing of new ones; the organization and building of new 
diking and drainage districts in the Coast country; 
the reduction of certain waste now common on many 
old farms and the marketing of other farm and 
orchard wastes, by-products, meat, etc. 

The crop production of Washington is rapidly 
passing from the stage of small grain, and range 
stock to diversified grain farming, including in addi- 



WASHINGTON THE EVERGREEN STATE 




Washington has good roads, and the State will spend $10,000,000 on the construction and improvement of roads during the next 
two years, aside from the money the various counties will spend on the same work 



tion to the small grains usually grown, alfalfa, corn, 
peas, beans, potatoes and other crops, all kinds of 
live stock, and a very wide range of fruits. Dairying 
is rapidly becoming one of the most important indus- 
tries, especially in Western Washington, where it is 
possible to pasture the stock ten to eleven months in 
the year, and in the irrigated valleys where unusually 
large crops of ensilage can be produced on small areas. 

Stock Raising 

The pioneer stage of the live stock industry is 
past, a transition having taken place in a brief quarter 
of a century, and to-day substantial foundations 
of pure blooded horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, and 
poultry are found on many farms. This evolution 
appUes to the entire State, from the favored dairy 
sections along the Puget Sound, through the pas- 
tures of the Okanogan, Chelan, Kittitas, Yakima 
and Walla Walla valleys with their flocks of sheep, 
herds of well bred hogs and high grade horses, to 
the plains of Eastern Washington, including the 
Big Bend, Palouse and Spokane Valley, where the 
stronger and better types of beef cattle are bred 
to a great profit. 

As attractive adjuncts to the live stock industry, 
almost ever>' county of the State has a Fair and 
the best types of animals from each connrmiity 



usually wind up in the show ring of either the 
State Fair at Yakima, the Interstate Fair and 
Live Stock Show at Spokane, or the Western Wash- 
ington Fair at Puyallup, or the Southwest Washing- 
ton Fair at Chehalis. 

For care of the dairy products, condensed milk 
plants have been established in the State. 

To provide home markets for live stock, stock, 
yards have been established at Seattle, Pasco- 
Spokane and Tacoma, where there are large pack- 
ing plants, with attractive home and foreign markets 
for their products. 

With all these natural advantages live stock is 
but sparsely represented on range or farm. The 
government census of sheep, January 1, 1918, showed 
661,000, and on the same date 1919, 779.980. In the 
same periods the swine census showed 283,000 in 
1918 and 316,916 in 1919. 

The State Commissioner of Agriculture estimates 
the value of cattle, milk cows, hogs and sheep, 
January 1, 1919, to be $42,400,000, a gain of $10,- 
000,000 since January 1, 1915. The largest gain in 
any class has been sheep. 

Transportation 

The following railroads, with their numerous 
branches, reach the important and producing areas, 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




Fruit and bees are a good combination. Every farmer should have bees, as he will soon learn that honey 

brings a good steady cash income 



thus providing shipping points within easy reach; 
Camas Prairie, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, 
Great Northern, Northern Pacific, Oregon-Wash- 
ington R. R. & Navigation, and Spokane, Portland 
& Seattle Ry. Only a limited amount of undevel- 
oped land is now located remote from transportation. 

Washington will sperid $10,^00,000 on the con- 
struction and improvement of roads during the 
coming two years, aside from the sums that the 
various counties will raise. 

According to the Highway Apportionment Bill, 
this will be done without a dollar of bonding. The 
funds will be raised by federal aid, auto licenses, and 
taxation. The program provides for the completion 
of the Pacific Highway nmning north and south 
through Western Washington and one highway east 
and west across the State. 

BANK SUMMARY 

November 1, 1918 

Capital Stock $ 27,869,000 

Surplus and undivided Profits 16,125,000 

Deposits 368,494,000 

Other Liabilities 15,920,000 

Loans, Discounts and Overdrafts 232,197,000 



Bonds and Securities 94,454,000 

Real Estate, Furniture, Fixtures, etc. . 15,144,000 
Cash and Deposits 93,499,000 

YAKIMA AND KITTITAS VALLEYS 

What is known as the valleys of the Yakima proper 
extends from Kennewick to Cle Elum, and includes 
the counties of Benton, Yakima, and Kittitas. The 
altitude at Kennewick is 372 feet, at Prosser 671, 
at Toppenish 768, and at Yakima 1,075 feet above 
sea level. The soil throughout is of a rich, deep, 
sandy loam, with ideal climatic conditions for live- 
stock, the finer fruits and vegetables, and all classes 
of farm products. The valley receives an adequate 
supply of water from lakes in the Cascade Moun- 
tains. The productivity of the land justifies existing 
prices, which range from $150 to $250 an acre for 
improved farm land, and $250 to $1,000 an acre for 
improved orchard land. Raw irrigable land sells for 
$100 to $150 an acre. The payments for water are 
distributed over a 20-year period, which requires 
only the repayment of the principal without interest. 
In addition to government irrigation under three 
projects, officially designated as "The Yakima 
Project," there are numerous private canals in 
corporate ownership. 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




This sugar beet factory produced more than $1,000,000 worth of sugar in 1918. The growing of sugar beets and the manufacture 

of sugar is an important industry in Washington 



The 1918 government report gave a full valuation 
of crops under the Sunnyside project of $7,213,392. 
or an average of $102.36 an acre. This average ex- 
ceeds the acre yield of 1917 by only $5.00. Prunes 
made the banner returns under this project with a 
tonnage of 11,841 pounds from 275 acres, which sold 
for $146,526, or an average of $532.80 an acre. 

Under the Tieton project, in 1918, a crop was 
raised valued at $2,516,250.92. This represents an 
increase of $738,655.30, or 41 per cent over 1917, the 
average acreage return under this project in 1918 
being $97.16 an acre. 

The Wapato project had a 74,481-acre crop, of 
which 10,000 acres were under privately owned 
canals which returned crops valued at $7,205,500. 
or, practically, $100 an acre, a total increase of 
almost $1,000,000 over the 1917 crop. 

Adequate funds for the High Line project, on 
which the Government has already expended more 
than a million dollars in the preliminary work on 
the Rimrock Dam, will greatly increase the irrigated 
area of this valley under government supervision, 
thus opening many thousands of acres of raw land 
for farm development. 

The 1918 crops exceeded in value the 1917 crops 
by $5,000,000. In addition to the increase of acre- 
age in beets, cereals, roots, corn, hay, and small 



fruits, 5,000 acres of fruit trees are bearing crop in 
1919 for the first time. 

The sugar beet industry is a growing one in this 
valley, a factory now being very successfully oper- 
ated at Yakima, and new factories will be completed 
and placed in operation during 1919 at Yakima, 
Toppenish, and Sunnyside. 

A survey of the farms of Yakima County in 1918 
gave the following acreage in crops: 

Alfalfa 85,000 acres 

Fruit 46,000 

Wheat 32,000 

Corn 15,500 

Sugar beets 14,000 

Potatoes 12,000 

Oats 3,000 

Barley 7,000 

Beans 24,000 

There are 400 silos in Yakima County. 

Corn yields fifty to eighty bushels to the acre. 

Yakima, the county seat and principal town of the 
valley, has a population of 24,000, while that of the 
county is estimated at 60,000. 

The mean average temperature for the valley is 
48 degrees. 



10 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




A com field in Benton County. Yields in this district often reach eighty bushels per acre, and eighteen 

to twenty tons of silage per acre 



Statistics place Yakima County fourth in the 
United States in the value of crops produced. 

On both sides of the Yakima and Kittitas valleys 
are highlands on which dry farming is extensively 
practiced. The total land area is more than a mil- 
lion acres; about one-half of which is tillable, and 
much of the remainder being well suited to grazing. 
The dry lands can be purchased for approximately 
$10 an acre. Agriculture, horticulture, and stock 
raising are the principal pursuits. Many herds of 
cattle and fiocks of sheep are driven down from the 
adjacent ranges to feed in the valleys during the 
winter. 

Kennewick in 1918 shipped 500 carloads of fruit, 
totaling a half million dollars. Considerable berry- 
ing is carried on in this locality and the Kennewick 
strawberries are the earliest on the markets in the 
State, and the finer qualities and great quantities 
of European varieties of grapes are grown at Kenne- 
wick. Irrigation is obtained from the Yakima and 
Columbia rivers, their tributary branches, and from 
wells. 

The Kittitas Valley is often referred to as the back 
door of the great Puget Sound markets of Seattle 
and Tacoma. The valley is the upper of a series of 
valleys watered by the Yakima River. It is oval 
in shape, being 30 miles long and about 20 miles 



wide. It lies in the foothills of the Cascade Moun- 
tains, being the first valley on the eastern slope. 
The hills on the northwest are covered with fine 
timber, a very small proportion of which has yet 
been cut. This timber holds the winter snows for 
summer irrigation. 

The hills furnish excellent summer pasture for 
great herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, while those 
to the South and East furnish the spring and fall 
pasture. Winter pasture is furnished on the eastern 
slope of the same hills, fronting on the Columbia 
River. Land now farmed in the valley is irrigated 
either from the Yakima River or from creeks which 
flow from the surrounding foothills. 

There are three major irrigation canals taking 
water from the Yakima River: the Cascade, the 
Town Canal, and the West Side Canal, in addition 
to several smaller canals which irrigate a few hun- 
dred acres each. 

The Kittitas reclamation district is intended to 
water 91,000 acres of land. Bonds for $5,000,000 
have been voted by the property owners on the same. 
This, when completed, will constitute another impor- 
tant district of irrigated land for farm development. 

This is one of the most diversified farming sections 
of the State. The largest crop is hav, bringing the 
farmers more than $2,000,000 in 1918. Timothy 



11 



WASHINGTON THE EVERGREEN STATE 




Stacking some of the State's hay crop. Washington produces hay abundantly of the best quahty 



yields three to four tons to the acre, and alfalfa 
approximately six tons. The dairy industry is 
large, the three local creameries using the milk of 
4,000 cows. 

During the years 1913 to 1917 one farmer raised 
approximately 200 acres of potatoes each year, from 
which he received an average yield of 13 tons an 
acre, or 2,600 tons annually. One field of 25 acres 
produced 17 tons an acre, and another field of one- 
third acre produced 1 1 tons, or at the rate of 33 tons 
an acre. Throughout this time this farmer received 
an average price of $17 a ton for his entire crop. 
The highest price received was $100 a ton for selected 
seed stock. He shipped direct to the coast cities. 
Modern machinery for producing and handling the 
crop was used wherever it was possible. Potatoes 
are especially free from diseases in this valley. 

Corn is being grown in an increasing acreage, 
particularly for silage. Wheat and other grains, 
potatoes, and fruits are likewise important crops. 
Considerable success has been made in growing 
sugar beets. 

The soil is from two to twenty feet deep, its chief 
elements being volcanic ash and decomposed basalt. 
Drainage is natural, the slope for the valley being 
2 per cent. 



The winters are moderate and generally open, 
while the summers do not have any long hot spells 
and the nights are invariably cool. A summary of 
the weather bureau's reports for ten years shows 
an average of not more than seven nights during 
the season when the temperature did not go down to 
60 degrees. 

Ellensburg, the metropolis and county seat of 
Kittitas County, is 1,500 feet above sea level, and 
has a population of 7,000. The Snoqualmie Pass 
Route over the Cascade Mountains to Seattle passes 
through Ellensburg. One of the State Normal 
schools is located at this point. 

The occupied sections of this district, and much 
of the sparsely settled portion, are supplied with 
transportation by one electric and four steam rail- 
roads. Thus most of the developed and available 
agricultural lands of Benton, Yakima, and Kittitas 
counties are within easy reach of stations, stock- 
yards, elevators and storage facilities. 

SOUTHEASTERN WASHINGTON 

That section of Southeastern Washington south 
of the Snake River and east of the Columbia, 
comprises Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and 
Asotin counties. Soil and climatic conditions are 



12 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




A young apple orchard in Southeastern Washington, with lettuce growing between the trees. The lettuce provides a good cash 

income for the farmer while he is waiting for the trees to bear 



varied. The larger percentage of the district is 
rolling table land of volcanic ash and has a wonderful 
adaptability for absorbing and holding moisture, and 
produces crops in abundance without irrigation. 
The principal crops of this area are wheat, oats, bar- 
ley, and fruit. The tendency of the farmers of this 
section for more than sixty years has been toward the 
single crop system, with summer fallow in alternate 
years. Probably no other section of the country- has 
produced such abundant crops of wheat without the 
use of fertilizer or rotation of crops. Probably forty 
bushels an acre would be a fair estimate. The 
yields are somewhat variable, the rainfall being 
limited, with slightly lighter soils on the lower 
benches where the wheat yield varies from seven to 
ten bushels in a very dry year, and up to forty 
bushels an acre in favorable seasons. 

Passing from this area toward the Blue Mountains 
on the East and to the North there is a slightly 
increased rainfall with increased yields until the 
bench lands are reached, which yield as high as 
60 to 75 bushels an acre. The old settlers of this 
section, many of whom are still living, will verify 
the statement that the wheat farmers, who have 
never suffered from crop failures since the country 
was settled, have found their methods so profitable 
and satisfactory that they are slow to adopt systems 



of diversified farming; hence the tendency has been 
to increase rather than decrease the farm units. 

As an ideal diversified farming, home making, 
stock raising, dairying and fruit growing country, 
this section is e.xceedingly promising. 

In different sections of this area there is consider- 
able irrigated land where alfalfa yields from six 
to eight tons, corn from 75 to 100 bushels, and the 
farmers in these sections are beginning to appreciate 
the fact that alfalfa, hay and com silage as a bal- 
anced ration is unexcelled for the production of 
either milk or meat, giving a higher value to the 
agricultural lands. 

Thousands of sheep and cattle are pastured in 
the Weneha Forest Reserve during the summer and 
winter-fed in the irrigated valleys where climatic 
conditions are ideal. 

The ranges in these foothills surrounding the 
valleys are well watered, springs and mountain 
streams being abundant. The district is inter- 
sected by numerous narrow valleys, giving each 
section its percentage of irrigated lands. Dry 
land alfalfa is being successfully grown on some of 
these bench lands, yielding from two to four 
tons an acre, depending upon the precipitation. 

Many hundred carloads of early vegetables are 
grown and shipped each season from Walla Walla 



13 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




Washington potatoes often yield twenty tons to the acre — many potatoes weighing three and four pounds each 



and vicinity where market gardening has been an 
eminently successful industry. 

Asotin, the most northeasterly county of this 
section, had a population of 11,000 in 1910, con- 
tains 387,840 acres of land, of which 54,000 are 
in the Weneha Reserve, and 21,300 are state lands. 
There are in private ownership now approximately 
24,000 acres well adapted to general farming, 
fruit raising and live stock. Prices of these lands, 
unimproved, range from $5 to $60 an acre, 
while improved lands near small towns are valued 
from $25 to $200 an acre. Some homestead relin- 
quishments 25 to 50 miles from settlements are to 
be had for $10 to $40 an acre, while the choicer 
fruit lands are selling for $150 to $500 an acre. 

There is no railroad in Asotin County, its nearest 
point to railroad being Lewiston, Idaho, which is 
connected with Clarkston in Asotin County by a 
free bridge, Clarkston being eight miles from 
Asotin, the county seat. The market crops find 
transportation from Lewiston. 

Asotin, Clarkston, Cloverdale and Anatone are 
the principal towns in this county, ranging in 
population from 250 to 1,200. 

Columbia County, occupying the center of this 
group, has railway transportation, an area of 
854 square miles, the southern portion lying in the 



Blue Mountains. Its population in 1910 was about 
7,000. 

There are 550,000 acres of land in this county, 
161,000 of which are in reserve, 16,000 of pur- 
chasable state land, and approximately 350,000 
in private ownership. There are but 700 farms 
improved in this county now, one of which con- 
tains about 30,000 acres. Half the county is 
tillable, and the remainder suitable for grazing. 
There are some logged off areas in the foothills with 
adjoining timber. The soil is usually a deep vol- 
canic ash, mixed with clay and little irrigation is 
necessary. Prices on unimproved land range from 
$3 to $15 an acre, while improved land sells 
at $30 to $600 an acre. General farming, stock 
raising and fruit growing constitute the lead- 
ing resources and industries, the grain crop run- 
ning over 3,000,000 bushels, chiefly in wheat and 
barley. 

Davton is the county seat, with an altitude of 
1,600 feet, and a population in 1910 of 3,500. 
Starbuck, near the Snake River on the West, has 
a population of 1,000. 

The south central county of this group, Garfield, 
is high, mountainous, and heavily timbered in the 
southern part, with rolling prairies of heavy fertile 
soil of great productivity in the northern part. The 



14 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




I iiouscincl: 



ol sheep pasture in the foothills during the summer and feed along the Columbia River bottoms in the winter 



population of this county in 1910 was 5,000. but it 
has increased very rapidly since then. There are 
450,000 acres of land in Garfield County, some 
300,000 being held in private ownership, 170,000 of 
which are tillable. A large proportion of the remain- 
ing lands are well adapted to grazing purposes. The 
precipitation in these farming districts ranges from 
sixteen to twenty inches with no extremes in tem- 
perature, the weather being usually suitable to out- 
door work. The soil is of volcanic ash and deep 
loam. Some irrigation is being carried on in the 
lower valleys where alfalfa and fine fruits are grown. 
The unimproved land suited for tilling is held at 
$15 to $30 an acre, while the improved land 
values run from $40 to $75 an acre. 

The annual grain crop is about three and one- 
half million bushels. The principal kinds of live 
stock are cattle, hogs, horses and poultry. Pomeroy 
is the county seat, with an altitude of 1,900 feet, 
and a population in 1910 of 1,600. 

Walla Walla County occupies the western portion 
of this group, and its land is rolling in character, 
sloping gently from an altitude of 350 feet at the 
mouth of the Snake River to 2,000 feet in the foot- 
hills of the Blue Mountains. It has 809,600 acres 
of land, 3,520 acres being in the Reserve, 25,900 
grazing and farm lands and state school grant lands, 



leaving 700,000 in private ownership. Land values 
range from $15 to $60 an acre for unimproved, and 
from $70 to $300 an acre for improved. 

The cost of putting rough land under cultivation 
varies from $7.50 an acre for sage brush, to $50 an 
acre in timbered regions. The leading industries 
are farming, dairying, stock and poultry raising 
and manufacturing. There are many sheep on 
the farm pastures of Walla Walla County, and the 
Blue Mountains near-by afford excellent ranges 
for them. Walla Walla County has adequate rail- 
way transportation, and is on the Inland Empire 
Highway. 

The crop estimates of this county for 1917 follow: 

Wheat, 4,000.000 bu. (© $1 .90 $ 7,600,000 

Alfalfa, 100,000 tons @ $16 l'!?29'^°2 

Barley, 500,000 bu. C«^ $1 25 62b,000 

Apples (Walla Walla and Touchet Districts 

700 cars (a> $1 . 25 per box) ^ll'9SS, 

Prunes, 500 cars (a) $50 . 00 per ton ^00,000 

Onions, 270.000 sacks (S $1 . 25 ?^I'^9^ 

Corn, 80,000 bu. @ $1 . 30 104,000 

Cherries, 500 tons (aj $80 40.000 

Asparagus. 300 tons (a $100 30.000 



15 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




Alfalfa is a good crop and yields from two to four tons per acre without irrigation, and four to eight tons 

per acre where irrigated 



Plums, apricots, berries, potatoes, carrots, 
spinach, rhubarb, cabbage, beets, let- 
tuce, etc., to the value of 300,000 

Live stock, poultry, dairv and manu- 
factured products " 3,000,000 

Total $14,548,500 

Walla Walla is the countv seat, with an altitude 
of 975 feet, and a population of 26,000. Whitman 
College is located there, and a Seventh Day Advent- 
ist School at College Place near-by, with a popula- 
tion of 1,000. Waitsburg, with an altitude of 
1,293 feet, and a population of 1,600, is another 
important town in the county, surrounded lay a 
fertile farming valley. 

THE PALOUSE REGION 

Situated in the extreme central eastern portion of 
the State, south of Spokane, is the famous Palouse 
region. This territory contains about 1,350,000 
acres of land, nearly 90 per cent of which is of agri- 
cultural value. 

The elevation ranges from about 1,500 feet above 
sea level in the western portion, along the Snake 
River, to 2,500 feet in the extreme eastern part, the 
country being neither rough nor level, but is com- 



posed of rounded-top rolling hills, the soil on top 
being as productive as the bottom lands. 

Fertilizing is unknown, and with the exception of 
the western portion of the territory irrigation is 
unnecessary. 

The soil is fairly uniform throughout the country, 
and is chiefly of basaltic loam of fine texture with a 
clay subsoil. 

Parts of this territory have been cropped con- 
tinuously for over forty years, without the addition 
of artificial enrichment and without diminution of 
its productiveness. 

Excellent natural drainage is provided by the 
Snake and Palouse rivers. 

This section has an annual rainfall of twenty-five 
inches in the eastern portion, graduating to about 
fifteen inches in the western part, and water for 
domestic purposes can be obtained close to the sur- 
face of the ground. An average rainfall of fifteen 
to eighteen inches seems pitifully insufficient to one 
accustomed to the precipitation of other localities, 
but the wonderful ability of this soil to retain and 
preserve moisture renders this amount ample for 
the growing and maturing of crops. 

While wheat raising is by far the greatest industry 
in this territory, all other grains thrive equally as 



AS^ 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




Good substantial buildings will be found on many Washington farms 



well, and dairying and stock raising are also profit- 
able industries. 

Since wheat was the easiest and quickest crop to 
raise, and the returns were usually good, it was 
natural to engage first in grain production. The 
same ideal conditions, however, produce equally 
fine fruits and vegetable crops. 

This section of Eastern Washington produces 
annually around 20,000,000 bushels of grain, the 
acreage being fairly well divided each year between 
fall and spring sown wheat, with best results favoring 
fall planting, which averages thirty-five bushels, 
compared with twenty-five bushels an acre for 
spring sown wheat. 

The United States Government, Department of 
Agriculture, report for the year 1916 shows Whitman 
County as ranking third in agricultural production 
in that year, and Adams County has officially desig- 
nated itself as "the breadbasket of the world." 

Oats and barley do remarkably well in this territory, 
often averaging sixty-five to seventy bushels an acre. 

For years all grains have been marketed in sacks, 
but the bulk method of handling is growing in popu- 
larity. Both combine harvesters and stationary 
separators are used in the harvesting. 

The past practice of cropping two years in three 
is fast becoming unpopular. Many farmers are now 



growing field and seed peas on ground they formerly 
summer fallowed, at very good profit. Conditions 
for dairying are also good, and dairying, the raising 
of stock, sheep, swine, and poultry may yet assume 
an equal importance with grain. 

Farmers have found that cattle, sheep, and hogs 
can be profitably raised feeding on grain and pea 
stubble until time to be finished for market. It has 
laeen demonstrated that pea stubble is a cheap and 
very desirable winter feed. 

While farming without irrigation predominates on 
the uplands along the Snake River, where water is 
available for irrigation, immense crops of alfalfa, 
fruits, and vegetables are raised. 

The average yield of alfalfa in this territory is 
approximately 6 tons an acre, grapes 7 to 15 tons, 
iDerries 200 to 300 crates, early potatoes 2 to 5 tons, 
late potatoes 5 to 15 tons an acre. 

The country is adequately provided with trans- 
portation facilities, reducing to a minimum the haul 
for grain to market. 

Elevators and grain warehouses are provided at 
convenient intervals along the railroads. 

The grain markets are found on the Pacific Coast 
and at Spokane, Wash. Small, prosperous flour 
mills are scattered throughout the territory, pro- 
viding a ready market for the farmers' grain. 



17 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




Waslungton farmers liave rcali/td goixl ptolit from the pruduction ol pure bred cattle. These four animals were sold recently at the 

Annual Shorthorn Breeders' sale, Chicago, for $ I 1 .650 



Over 250 miles of state highways have been built 
and all roads are gradually being improved with 
gravel and macadam. 

Colfax, the county seat of Whitman County, is a 
city of about 3,000 people, and has the distinction 
of being one of the wealthiest cities per capita in the 
United States, the bank deposits being $1,000 per 
capita. 

The climate is mild and healthful. In the coldest 
weather the temperature rarely registers below zero, 
and then only for a few days. Summer nights are 
always cool, and there is no depressing heat during 
the day. Spring and fall are long and particularly 
pleasant. Because of the long seasons, farmers can 
commence spring work in March, and harvesting 
generally commences the last week in July, and is 
over by the first of October. 

Social conditions are all that could be desired, and 
good schools and churches are everywhere estab- 
lished. At Pullman, Wash., is the State College of 
Washington, devoted to the teaching of agriculture 
and science, as well as providing a liberal college 
course. 

There are plenty of opportunities in the Palouse 
region to invest capital or engage in farming, the 
price of land varying from $25 to $125 an acre, de- 
pending on location and improvements. The grow- 



ing practice of utilizing ground formerly sunimer 
fallowed in growing peas results in more diversified 
farming. 

Many farmers in the Palouse country now plant 
as high as 300 acres of peas each year to save sum- 
mer fallowing, the profit from the peas equalling as 
much as $100 an acre. In addition hogs are fattened 
on pea stubble, and the straw is used for winter feed 
for cattle. Growing oats and peas and cutting them 
for hog feed without threshing is very profitable. 
Persons desiring to purchase lands can secure neces- 
sary information from county farm agents at the 
county seat. 

In no other agricultural region is industry' more 
generously rewarded, a modest fortune more com- 
mon, prosperity more universal, and poverty 
unknown than in the Palouse country. 

THE BIG'^BEND DISTRICT 

That part of the State of Washington lying west 
of Spokane and north of the Columbia Basin dis- 
trict, m the bend of the Columbia River, is known 
as the Big Bend Country. It includes practically 
all of Lincoln County, that part of Grant County 
north of Crab Creek, Adrian. Naylor and Crater, 
and all of Douglas County. It has been a 



18 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




A twenty-six horse combined harvester and ilutblier with its crew of four men m tlic gitut v\lie<ii producing district of Washington. 
^ Note the excellent buildings and orchard in the background 



large producer of wheat and kindred cereals in the 
past quarter of a century. It has an elevation of 
from 1,000 to 2,600 feet. 

The Columbia River, which marks the northern 
and western boundary of this area, and the Spokane 
River, which empties into the Columbia at the 
northwestern corner of Lincoln County, are the 
only streams of any size. 

Lincoln County has an area of 2,800 square miles, 
and a population of 25,000. The county is primarily 
adapted to agricultural pursuits, the leading indus- 
tris being grain growing and live stock. It is in the 
heart of the wheat belt of Eastern Washington. The 
United States Field Agent of the Department of 
Agriculture in 1917 reported a total valuation of 
wheat, oats, barley, corn, and potatoes of $10,329,- 
000, with $12,000 additional from sales of milk and 
cream. 

For years it has been the common practice to 
produce a wheat crop every other year, and allow 
the land to lie in summer fallow during the alternate 
years. However, it has been demonstrated during 
the last two or three seasons that it is possible to 
grow a cultivated crop during the alternate years, 
in the larger portion of the county, without detri- 
ment to the wheat crop. The growing of beans and 



peas for the cultivated crop is rapidly gaining favor. 
This new industry promises an additional source of 
income. 

Along with the production of these leguminous 
crops comes an increased opportunity for live stock 
production. There is ample opportunity for the 
production of double the present amount of live 
stock. 

It is not uncommon, during average years, to pro- 
duce forty-five bushels of wheat an acre. While the 
wheat industry occupies a large place in farming 
activities, the live stock industry is rapidly growing. 
There are at present a number of breeders of pure- 
bred Shorthorn cattle, also breeders of pure-bred 
sheep and hogs. 

The principal towns in Lincoln County, all sur- 
rounded and chiefly sustained by agricultural pur- 
suits, are Davenport, the county seat; Odessa, 
where a quarter of a million dollars worth of flour is 
milled annually; Sprague, near which is located the 
famous Hercules Stock Farm of 15,000 acres; Wilbur, 
renowned for its high standard of farm horses ; Long 
Lake, with a hydro-electric plant of 90,000 horse- 
power capacity; Reardan, with a 400-barrel flour 
mill; Harrington, with a harvester factory; and 
numerous other smaller places convenient for 



19 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 





V ■■ 



The dairy business has proven profitable for the beginner, as it provides a good steady cash income under most favorable climatic 

conditions 



farmers and having churches, fraternal societies, 
good schools, and local newspapers. 

The northern part of Grant County, which is 
included in the Big Bend district, is noted for its 
wheat. From 600,000 to 800,000 bushels of wheat 
are shipped annually from Coulee City, and over a 
million bushels in a single year have been shipped 
from Quincy. 

Ephrata, with a population of about 1,000, is the 
county seat, and is surrounded by wheat and alfalfa 
fields and orchards. 

Douglas County lies east of the Columbia River 
and northwest of Grant Cotmty. The soil is a 
volcanic ash, ranging from a few to many feet in 
depth. The farms for the most part are improved 
and have produced large yields of wheat, ranging 
from twenty to forty-five bushels an acre, and corre- 
spondingly large yields of oats and barley. The 
rainfall varies from fourteen to eighteen inches. 
The summers are long and the winters short and 
comparatively mild. Long seasons for farming 
operations are enjoyed, and for grain farming alone 
much larger farms are operated than in grain sections 
of the East. While formerly much of the land was 
summer-fallowed each alternate year, the farmers 
are now devoting some of this land to cultivated 



crops and raising alfalfa, corn for silage, and field 
peas. 

The irrigated lands of the county lie chiefly along 
the Columbia River. In the Moses Coulee section 
irrigation development has taken place, and addi- 
tional lands are being rapidlv brought under the 
ditch. 

The county seat is Waterville, which had a popu- 
lation of about 1,000. 



Spokane District and Northeastern Washington 

The district of Northeastern Washington is com- 
posed of Spokane, Stevens, Pend Oreille, and Ferry 
counties, and is economically important because of 
its wide range of natural resources, including mining, 
grazing, and water power, and its agricultural indus- 
tries, including live stock, general farming, fruit 
growing, and vegetable production. 

The topography of the district presents an inter- 
esting combination of mountains, valleys, plains, 
hills, and canyons, with splendid opportunities for 
the utilization of water for irrigation purposes. 
The streams and lakes abound in fish and are a 
sportsman's paradise. 



20 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




Washington produces successfully a good quality of com in practically all parts of the State 



The principal lakes are Liberty, Loon, Deer, Fish, 
Little Pend Oreille, Bead, Marshall, and King, 
and the attractive streams with resort advantages 
are the Colville, Kettle, Pend Oreille, San Poll, and 
Columbia. 

The climate varies materially with the altitude, 
exposure, and location, and while as a general rule 
the snowfall is heavy, the winters are mild and the 
growing seasons are very long. The annual rainfall 
varies from 18.85 inches m the region of Spokane to 
27 inches in Metaline Falls, and 15 inches at Repub- 
lic. 

The soil, like all western soils over large areas, 
is extremely variable, ranging from the rich, black, 
gravelly loam of the Spokane Valley, and the light 
volcanic ash of the Columbia Valley, to the very 
rich clay soils of the benches and hills. It is rich 
in mineral content, cultivates easily, and responds 
readily to agricultural practices. 

Spokane County has all four of the nation's basic 
industries; agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and 
limibering contribute to the wealth of the county, 
agriculture easily taking the lead in importance. 

The agriculture includes general farming, dairying, 
and stock raising on the prairies and in the hills, and 
fruit growing and vegetable gardening in the Spo- 
kane Valley. This valley, which stretches for 



thirty miles east of Spokane to the Idaho line, being 
approximately four miles in width, is a real farmer's 
paradise. Most of the valley which has been 
brought under ditch is now thickly populated, 
5 and 10-acre tracts predominating. Over 1,200 
families are living in the valley, but there are still 
several thousand acres not under cultivation and 
many opportunities await the newcomer. 

Clifford F. Oldham of East Farms has a typical 
farm in this imgated belt. He has 54 acres and in 
1918 had 20 acres in alfalfa, wliich averaged 4H tons 
to the acre. Had he wished to sell all at the pre- 
vailing prices he would have made over $2,500 from 
the 20 acres. He also had 20 acres in corn, which 
was cut for ensilage, averaging 15 tons to the acre. 
His apple orchard of five acres is nine years old, and 
his net returns from this were $753, after paying 
all expenses. 

Improved land in the valley is selling for $250 to 
$400 an acre, with the lower figure prevailing. 
Unimproved land, or land which has been plowed 
but from which the rocks have not been removed, 
is selling for an average of $150 an acre. 

Dwellers in the Spokane Valley have all the 
advantages of city life. A paved highway runs 
from Spokane through the entire length of the 
valley, which is also served by two electric inter- 



21 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




The settler need not go far for recreation. TTie State has many excellent fishing streams, and the mountains are the 

home of all kinds of game 



urban lines. Good schoolhouses have also been 
erected throughout this district. 

While apple growing is the chief industry in the 
valley, stock raising and dairying are gaining in 
prominence. 

The center of population and of trade in this 
district is the metropolis of Spokane, with a popu- 
lation of 130,000. This city furnishes an available 
market for stock and farm and orchard produce 
from the surrounding districts. During the year 
1918 there were 3,049 carloads of stock marketed 
through the Spokane Union Stockyards, as com- 
pared with 1,738 carloads for the year 1917. 

Fourteen branch lines and five transcontinental 
systems make the city one of the most important 
railway centers in the West, and furnish quick and 
adequate service for farmers, stockmen, and lum- 
bermen. Spokane absorbs a great deal of the fresh 
fruits, berries, and vegetables which are grown in 
the valley, while a number of commission houses 
are always ready to purchase any siu-plus. An auto 
truck system for produce transportation has been 
established. 

Spokane has a well organized educational system, 
consisting of a university, two colleges, two large 
high schools, and over seventy graded schools, and 
many private schools. 



The city is taking rank as an industrial center, 
being supported by approximately 270 manufac- 
turing establishments having an annual payroll in 
excess of $8,000,000, and employing 10,000 wage 
earners. 

Stevens County has many resources and they are 
widely diversified, including agricultural crops, live 
stock, minerals, and lumber. 

The Columbia River Valley from Marcus to old 
Fort Spokane, generally called the Kettle Falls Val- 
ley, is a very fertile, productive area of widely diver- 
sified agricultural resources. Its principal crops are 
fruit, alfalfa, grain, and live stock. Its soil is well 
adapted to irrigation, and the climate is ideal for 
home life. The valley is narrow, and its irrigable 
area small. The bench lands adjoining make good 
farm land, and the timbered hills and valleys afford 
ideal pasture for all kinds of live stock. 

The Colville Valley, traversing the coimty from 
south to north, is a broad, rich area having a deep, 
moist, fertile soil adapted to the growing of grain, 
fruit, and forage crops and the production of live 
stock. It is famous for its timothy meadows, which 
average from two to four tons per acre. The ad- 
joining timber and cut-over lands afford an excellent 
range, and when cleared are well adapted to grain 
farming. These logged off lands are being sold to 



22 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




Washington produces more lumber annually than any other state, and the logging and mill districts furnish a ready market for poultry 

and farm products 



settlers at prices ranging from $10 to $20 an acre on 
long, easy payment terms. A large amount of land 
can be found here in small mountain valleys, some 
partly improved, at $10 to $15 an acre. 

Colville is the county seat and has a population 
of 1,500 with good schools and churches. 

One of the largest deposits of magnesite in the 
world is located in this county near the towns of 
Valley and Chewelah. Two companies are oper- 
ating them at the present time, and their total 
output for the last nine months of 1918 was 90,500 
tons. They employ 450 men. Only one other 
state in the Union is now producing this commodity. 

The most Northeasterly county in the State is 
Pend Oreille, with an area of approximately 900,000 
acres, of which 400,000 are in the Kaniksu Forest 
Reserve. There are 400,500 acres of surveyed 
government land and 40,000 acres of state land, 
leaving approximately 450,000 acres classified as 
grazing and tillable, and ideally suited to stock 
raising. ' 

Newport, the gateway of the Pend Oreille Valley, 
is the county seat, with a population of about 1,700. 

One of the most attractive valleys of this coimty 
is the Calispell, comprising between 60,000 and 
70,000 acres of level, fertile land which produces 
luxurious growths of grains and grasses, making it 



an ideal dairy section. The soil of this district is a 
deep, rich loam, and the upper lands of red volcanic 
ash, all suitable to the growth of cereals, vegetables, 
and small fruits. Land values range in price from 
$5 to $20 an acre for logged off lands, with an esti- 
mated cost of $10 to $60 for putting them under 
cultivation, while the improved lands sell at 
$60 to $125 per acre. This is one of the heaviest 
timbered sections of the State, consisting of white 
pine. Western pine, tamarack, fir, and cedar. Some 
of the better qualities and large quantities of cedar 
poles, posts, shingle bolts, piling, and cordwood are 
manufactured in Pend OreUle County. Large 
sawmills are located at the thriving towns of Dal- 
kena, Cusick, and lone, and an electrically operated 
Portland cement mill, with a capacity of 200 barrels 
daily at Metalme Falls, and when operating at full 
capacity employ 125 men. 

The water power development possibilities of the 
streams are almost unlimited. The "Z" canyon 
on the Pend d' Oreille has a maximum power of 1 20,000 
horse power at low stages of the water, with a 
possible development by means of storage reser- 
voirs of 350,000 horse power. 

Ferry County has many natural resources, includ- 
ing mineral, lumber, power and agricultural possi- 
bilities. The agriculture of the county mcludes 



23 




""BENTON f\W!,'^'"' >.^<^XAy<Z^-S,^A\ ^.' #f i Eoger^ur^ 

I ^'a.,— o^-ife, :''-! :.'#■* ^ ■ 



Map of WASHINGTON 



Cuvji-ighHiT R»nJ McN»llj i. C". 756 D| 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




A typical alfalfa field with orchard in the background. Note the hogs grazing in the field. Alfalfa and hois 

are a good money making combination ' 



grain farming, live stock, and raising of fruits and 
vegetables, and is specially adapted to live stock. 
A great deal of land remains for farm development. 
Crrazing land can be bought at $3.00 to $5.00 an acre 
and farm land unimproved at $10 to $15 an acre 
Republic, the county seat, is located in the San 
Foil Valley, which is the center of a rich mining 
district, abounding in gold, copper, lead, and silver. 
All the mines are operating and shipping their 
siliceous ores to various smelters. 

THE COLUMBIA BASIN DISTRICT 

This district includes all of Franklin County, all of 
Grant County south of a line drawn between Wil- 
son Creek, Adrian and Crater, and practically all of 
Adams County, with a small strip of the southern 
part of Lincoln County, and the extreme western 
portion of Whitman County. 

The Washington legislature has just passed a 
bill providing for the survey of about three million 
acres of land in Whitman, Spokane, Adams, Frank- 
lin, Grant, and Lincoln counties, of which about 
2,000,000 acres of first class land will come under 
■what is known as the Columbia Basin Irrigation 
Project. This will be one of the largest irrigation 
projects in the world. The survevs will consume 
the balance of the present year. The water is 



to be taken from Pend Oreille River, using Pend 
Oreille Lake gs a reservoir. The construction 
cost IS estimated at $79 per acre. This great project 
will open to intensive cultivation 3,000,000 acres. 

Franklin County is an irregular triangular area 
between the Columbia and Snake rivers. The 
topography is slightly rolling, rising gradually from 
the southern to the northern limit by a series of 
benches. The county assessor estimates that about 
50 per cent of the surface is rolling and the remainder 
evel. There are about 500,000 acres of tillable 
land in the county, and the remainder can be 
profitably used for pasture. Practically all the 
unimproved lands are covered with sagebrush. 

The soil is chiefly volcanic ash and sandy loam, 
ranging in depth from two to forty feet, and adapted 
to wheat raising, which is the main crop in the 
northern part of the county. The rainfall averages 
from seven to ten inches annually, and the winters 
are very mild and short. The water generally used 
for domestic purposes is taken from wells. In the 
coulees, water is reached at a depth of from 40 to 100 
feet. The Columbia and Snake rivers can both be 
made to yield a considerable amount of power for 
industrial purposes. 

Pasco, the county seat, is 400 feet above sea 
level, It has a population of 3,500, and is sup- 



26 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




Every farm should have a flock of sheep. The cost of feeding them is small, and they will return a good profit 



ported by a large monthly payroll from employes 
of the railroads having yards and roundhouses at 
this point. 

Adams County is in the heart of the great wheat 
belt, and dry farming is practiced in the most 
thorough and skillful manner. It is exclusively an 
agricultural county, all of its resources and indus- 
tries being dependent upon the production of 
cereals and allied farm products. The census 
of 1910 shows the population as 10,920. A 
Russian settlement west of Ritzville has been very 
successful. 

The total area of the covmty is 1,223,680 acres. 
Fully 80 per cent of the county is tillable, and the 
remaining 20 per cent is good for pasturage. The 
soil in all parts is a volcanic ash, ranging in depth 
from one to sixty feet, and is ideal for the production 
of grains. Toward the north and east it is much 
heavier. The climate is mild and the rainfall is 
usually sufficient for successful farming. About 
twelve inches fall at Ritzville and about ten at Lind. 

The main crop is wheat, although considerable 
stock is raised, and farmers are paying more atten- 
tion to dairying and hog raising, to which the county 
seems quite adaptable. 

Ritzville, the county seat, is a prosperous little 
city of over 3,000 people, with paved streets, sewer 



and water systems and modem department stores. 

The soil of Grant County is a volcanic ash, vary- 
ing in places to a sandy loam mixed with ash. The 
rainfall is greatest in the northern section. Unim- 
proved land, without water, ranges in price from 
$7 to $10 an acre, and irrigated lands from $75 
to $250 an acre. Improved wheat land sells for 
$35 to $60 an acre. Several areas of irrigated lands 
are planted to trees and alfalfa. About 75 per cent 
of the crop is wheat, which runs between two and 
three million bushels annually. Oats, irrigated 
alfalfa, and fruit are also produced. The princi- 
pal irrigated and fruit section is in the Moses Lake 
region, where some com is raised. The county is 
but 1,000 feet above sea level, and the climatic 
conditions are ideal for apples, grapes, peaches, 
small fruits, potatoes, alfalfa, wheat, corn and all 
small grains, onions, sweet potatoes, cabbage, and 
celery. 

There are now imder irrigation, tributary to 
Neppel and Moses Lake, several thousand acres of 
land, the system including eight ptimping plants. 
Land under this irrigation system, with water 
piped to it, is selling at prices ranging from $100 
upward an acre. 

(Additional infomiation regarding Grant County 
will be found under the "Big Bend District.") 



WASHINGTON THE EVERGREEN STATE 




A nine-year-old apple orchard in bloom. Note the extra props supporting the main branches of the trees. 

Washington passed the experimental stage, years ago 



Apple production in 



WENATCHEE, ENTIAT, METHOW, LAKE 
CHELAN AND OKANOGAN VALLEYS 

The Wenatchee Valley is in the center of the 
State and consists of the valley lands along the 
Wenatchee River for about twenty-five miles from 
its mouth, along the Columbia at and near the 
junction of these rivers. It embraces about 30,000 
acres of irrigated land, the greater part of which is in 
orchard, principally apples, watered by gravity for 
the most part from the Wenatchee River and small 
streams tributary. Altitude of the principal orchard 
property ranges from about 600 to 1,000 feet. 

The United States Bureau of Markets states that 
in 1918 the Wenatchee district (including apple- 
producing areas of Chelan, Okanogan, Douglas, and 
Grant counties) produced 8,500 cars (750 boxes each) 
of apples, 44 per cent of the apple crop of the Pacific 
Northwest, and 35 per cent of the total boxed apple 
output of the entire country, while the entire State 
produced about four-fifths of the crop of the Pacific 
Northwest States. 

The most important of the near-by apple-produc- 
ing districts, included in the Wenatchee district by 
the State Department of Agriculture for statistical 
purposes and which are usually considered as mar- 
keted through Wenatchee, are the Entiat Valley, 



Lake Chelan region, Methow Valley, Okanogan 
Valley at Brewster, Bridgeport, Omak and Okano- 
gan, Moses Coulee district, and Quincy district in 
Grant County. Several hundred cars of the total 
for the district come from these sections, but for 
the most part their orchards are young and only 
beginning to produce important amounts. 

In addition to apples, the Wenatchee district 
produces a large number of other fruits, including 
peaches, pears, apricots, cherries, strawberries, canta- 
loup, and early and tender vegetables. The ship- 
ments of these in 1918 amounted to 1,387 carloads. 

Facilities for the handling of fruits by canning 
and preserving methods are being established 
at Wenatchee and other points, and in 1918 the 
following amounts of fruits were handled in this 
manner: 5,264 tons of apples, 90 tons of peaches, 
150 tons of pears, 20 tons of apricots, 50 tons of 
cherries, and 150 tons of beans. These facilities are 
only in their infancy. They are turning to profit 
for the producer important amounts which earlier 
were permitted to go to waste and loss, but extensive 
additions in such plants are expected in the future. 

These valleys range from one to three miles in 
width and five miles up in length. The combination 
of soil, climate, altitude, and water, with the pro- 
tection from killing frosts of the snowcapped Cas- 



28 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




The valleys and adjoining foothills provide excellent grazing land for cattle 



cades only a few miles distant, produces a condition 
unequalled for the production of high-class fruit. 
No serious loss of crop has ever resulted from late 
spring or early fall frosts, and as every year brings a 
crop, the expense of care of orchards is reduced to a 
minimum by permanent returns, while natural 
conditions also aid in eradication of fruit pests and 
diseases and maintaining the high standard of quality 
of the fruit. 

The soil is generally of light color and texture well 
supplied with elements which promote fruit growth, 
and for many years little attention was given to soil 
improvement. The more advanced and progressive 
producers are now following scientific practices to 
improve on nature's bounty with appreciable 
results. 

Climate of these valleys is one of the most attrac- 
tive assets. Summers are long, the last frosts of 
spring coming late in April and first of fall in Octo- 
ber; simimer days are warm with only occasional hot 
days when the temperature goes above 90 degrees; 
cool nights prevail. Severe wind or lightning or 
other damaging storms are practically unknown. 
The autumn season is long, providing ample season 
for picking and packing the apple crop which usually 
closes early in November. Winters are compara- 
tively short and mild. Six inches to a foot of snow 



occasionally falls but seldom lies long on the ground, 
and zero temperature is rare. The total annual rain- 
fall is light, being about ten inches, little rain coming 
in summer months. 

Market and distribution facilities are permanently 
established and skill of the grower in production and 
preparation of his fruit to a large extent determines 
his profits and contributes to the high standard of 
perfection and quality of the Wenatchee apple in the 
markets. These apples are now found in all impor- 
tant markets of the United States and are rapidly 
gaining a foothold in foreign markets. More than 
1,000 important wholesale centers are now supplied 
from Wenatchee. Pioneering is passed both in 
production and distribution. 

Very little land for orchard planting is available 
in the Wenatchee Valley proper and orchard prop- 
erties are valued at from $500 to $1,500 an acre, 
according to location, varieties, and standard of the 
orchard. 

Wenatchee is the principal town of the valley 
and the commercial center for all of the surrounding 
apple-producing districts. It has a population of 
6,000 people, several well paved streets, and large 
business buildings, banks, etc., and every improve- 
ment that a modern and prosperous city requires. 
The business of the city may be gauged by the fact 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 







liiSBiiiii] 






Alfalfa on new irrigated land of North Central Washington yielding over eight tons per acre and three cuttings each season 



that the fruit crop handled through this gateway 
ranges in value from $5,000,000 to over $10,000,000 
annually. 

Cashmere, eleven miles westward, has a popula- 
tion of 1,200 and is a prosperous trading center of 
the valley. 

Leavenworth, twenty-three miles up the valley 
from Wenatchee, has a population of about 1,600, is 
at the head of the valley, and is prominent in lumber- 
ing and milling. Several large apple box factories 
here turn the native trees into the millions of apple 
boxes for the yearly crop of the entire valley and 
near-by districts, thereby providing this article at a 
minimum of cost. 

Many smaller towns serve the fruit producers as 
loading stations on the railroad at intervals of four 
to five miles which reduces to a minimum the haul 
from ranch to railroad. 



NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON 

Extending northward along the Columbia and 
Okanogan rivers, the railroad traverses a territory, 
rich in natural resources, and of which only a small 
part is developed. Fertile valleys, rolling high- 



lands, and mountain grazing areas are devoted to 
dairying, stock raising, and grain farming. 

The irrigated lands lie in the Entiat Valley, Lake 
Chelan Region, Methow Valley, and Okanogan 
Valley. Climate, water supply, good soil and 
drainage, produce large crops of alfalfa, com, 
small grains, a great variety of fruits to perfection, 
numerous vegetables and roots. A long growing 
season, good transportation and markets, schools, 
churches, land at reasonable prices and on easy 
terms, afford an attractive combination for the 
homeseeker. 

Great opportunities now are offered in this section 
in the direction of stock raising, dairying, and mixed 
farming that will utilize to the best advantage the 
hundreds of thousands of acres of grazing lands in 
foothills and forest reserves in connection with feed 
and forage that may be produced on the irrigated 
valley lands. The valleys are flanked on both sides 
by table and foothill lands for grain raising and graz- 
ing, back of which lie several national forests, where 
cattle and sheep may be grazed for a few cents a 
head a month. Only a part of the capacity of 
these grazing areas is now used and large numbers 
of stock are ranged here during summer months 
which are produced and winter fed in other por- 
tions of the State where more feed is grown. 



30 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




The forest reserve and foothills provide cheap grazing land. Good water and good grass will be found in 

practically every section of the State 



The settler may himself run stock on the range and 
produce alfalfa, corn, and forage for winter or fatten- 
ing feed on the newly irrigated areas of the Okanogan 
Valley, or he may sell his feed at good prices to 
stockmen who depend on buying winter feed but 
often must ship their stock to other parts of the 
State. It is estimated that there are twenty-five acres 
of range for every acre of irrigable land in the tribu- 
tary valleys. The raw irrigated land of the West 
Okanogan district is available for improvement now, 
but additional lands are expected soon, possibly in 
1919, to be brought under irrigation. The grazing 
land outside of the forest reserves is largely deeded 
land, but in most cases where not suitable for 
cultivation in important areas, can be bought for 
$3 to $8 an acre or leased at a nominal price. 
Good pasture may be secured adjoining present 
or prospective irrigated areas so that the stock- 
raising business may be conveniently conducted 
from a home on irrigated land. 

In the Lake Chelan, Methow, and Okanogan val- 
leys, especially at Brewster, Bridgeport, Okanogan, 
and Omak (the last two towns being in the United 
States Reclamation Project of 10,000 acres) several 
thousand acres of orchard are now rapidly maturing. 



The growing and non-producing period of the orch" 
ards is almost past and these districts are now 
entering the profit-making period of apple growing. 

Climate of the valleys of this entire region is very 
similar to that of the Wenatchee Valley, but in the 
highlands on either side the valleys, summers are 
shorter and winters less mild as the altitude in- 
creases. 

THE COLVILLE RESERVATION 

The south half of the Colville Indian Reservation, 
comprising 600,000 acres, lies on the eastern side of 
the Okanogan River in Okanogan and Ferry coun- 
ties. Excluding Indian allotments, timber and 
mineral reserves, this reservation was opened to 
homestead entry in 1916. Here are good oppor- 
tunities for live stock and grain farming, either by- 
direct purchase, or the leasing of Indian allotments. 

The Molson country in the extreme northern part 
of Ferry County produces grain and live stock. 
Wheat yields from twenty-five to forty and oats 
forty to eighty, bushels an acre. The altitude 
averages 3,500 feet. 



31 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




Truck gardening is an impwrtant and extremely profitable industry in the Puget Sound country and the farmer finds a ready 

market for his products in the larger cities and towns 



THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY 

The world's shipping enters the very heart of 
Western Washington, through the Strait of Juan 
de Fuca into Puget Sound, a vast inland sea, and 
practically one large and safe harbor. Between this 
great body of salt water and the Cascade Range of 
mountains are the counties of San Juan, Island, 
Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, King, Pierce, and 
Thurston. Here will be found a happy combination 
of soil, climate, water, and conditions favorable 
for ideal home life not surpassed in this countri^ 
This is due to the winds from the Pacific Ocean 
which prevail over this region, making it cool in 
summer and mild in winter. 

The Puget Sound customs district ranks second 
in the United States. 

Seattle, the metropolis of the State, has a popu- 
lation of approximately 350,000. It has in Lakes 
Union and Washington, connected by government 
built canal with salt water, the largest fresh water 
harbor in the world. The steel and wooden ship 
building industry has assumed vast proportions at 
Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Olj'mpia, Bellingham and 
Anacortes. 

The University of Washington at Seattle has a 
A-1 ranking by the Association of American Uni- 



versities and its degrees are recognized all over the 
world. 

San Juan County, the smallest in the State of 
Washington, has as fine farms as can be found any- 
where, located in valleys once heavily timbered. 
This county is composed of 132 islands of which 
San Juan, Orcas, and Lopez are the largest and 
together contain 75 per cent of the population, and 
most of the available agricultural land of the 
county. Between mountain ranges of various 
height's— from 200 to 2,400 feet above sea level — 
are many splendid areas of rich, alluvial soil ideal 
for agricultural and horticultural pursuits, much 
of which is now in cultivation. In portions of each 
section are to be found much rich beaver dam, 
bottom and prairie land. Oats yield as high as 
125 bushels, and potatoes ten to fifteen tons, an 
acre. Land values range between $10 to $50 an 
acre unimproved. The eastern portion of the 
county, where most of the farming is done and 
available, has a most agreeable climate. There are 
more sheep in San Juan than any other Western 
Washington county. Choice apples and berries are 
produced in abundance on these islands. 

A natural resource is the immense, almost chem- 
ically pure deposits of lime, which occupy first 
place in manufacturing revenue. 



32 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




The Puget Sound district produces an abundant crop of corn. Note the height of this corn 



Friday Harbor, at an elevation of seventy-five 
feet above the Sound, is the county seat with an 
approximate population of 1,000 and it is a fishing 
and farming center. 

Island County has a population of about 6,000, 
with an acreage of 12,000 acres of farming, and 
50,000 acres of cut-over, land. Whidby and Canano 
are the two largest of a group of islands which form 
this county, the former containing the largest 
quantity of agricultural lands of which 8,000 
acres are under cultivation. There are large areas 
of partially cleared lands, possessing attractive 
opportunities for settlement and cultivation. 

Fruit is the leading product of which berries 
form an important part and have a ready sale 
and net the growers from $300 to $500 an acre. 
Dairying is an important industry with excellent 
returns and a steady market. 

Coupeville, with 500 people, is the county seat, 
while Langley is the metropolis in the center of the 
farming area. 

Whatcom County. The northwestern county 
of the State is Whatcom, whose county seat is 
Bellingham with a population of 40,000. Lum- 
bering and logging operations are of leading indus- 



trial importance. Bellingham has the largest sal- 
mon canner>' in the world, and there are ten other 
canneries at Bellingham and Blaine. 

The flax industry in Whatcom county promises 
so well that the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce 
is now raising a $50,000 fund with which to provide 
a flax mill. 

A Government bulb farm where all kinds of tulips, 
hyacinths and other bulbs are raised, has been 
established for several years near Bellingham. The 
soil and climate here combine to make bulb growing 
ideal. 

One of the three State Normal Schools is located 
at Bellingham. A large cement plant produces 
cement for roads and construction purposes through- 
out the Northwest. 

Whatcom county has one of the largest Co- 
operative Cow Testing Associations in the United 
States, with 1,200 cows owned by sixty dairymen. 
It also has a good Dairymen's Association and 
several Cattle Breeding Clubs, and a strong Poultry- 
Organization. Two large Milk Condenseries are 
located at Ferndale and Nooksack, and numerous 
creameries are scattered throughout the county. 
Pasture begins early in the spring, and lasts until 



33 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




A typical Washington strawberry patch. The soil and climatic conditions of the State are well adapted to the growing of strawberries 
and they find a ready cash market, producing an average income of $300 per acre 



November, and frequently as late as December. 
The farmers around Linden received a good average 
price per pound for butter fat during 1918. The 
county has 150,000 acres in farms, one-third of 
which are improved. There are 150,000 acres 
of logged-off land which can be bought on reasonable 
prices and terms, from lumbering and logging firms, 
who have removed the timber. Improved river 
valley land sells for $200 to $300 an acre. Other 
improved land is worth $75 to $150, and logged-off 
land ranges from $5 an acre, up. 

Skagit County whose name was derived from 
the Skagit river, the second largest river in the State, 
is one of the richest counties in natural resources. 
Anacortes, the largest town and seaport, popula- 
tion 7,000, has fifteen fish canneries and by-products 
plants and ten lumber and shingle mills. Mount 
Vernon the county seat, 4,000 population, Sedro- 
Woolley, 3,500 population, Burlington, LaConner, 
Hamilton, Concrete, Big Lake, and Clear Lake are 
other principal towns. 

The LaConner flats average 120 bushels of oats 
an acre, and run as high as 150 to 180 bushels. 
Cabbage seed is raised near LaConner and is shipped 
to Eastern seed concerns in carload lots every fall. 



An acre yields from 700 to 1,800 pounds of seed. 
Concrete has two, million-dollar cement plants and 
the county is well served with steam and electric 
railroads, also has a good system of hard surfaced 
roads. Two large condensed milk plants are located 
at Moimt Vernon and one at Sedro-Woolley. 
Dairying is a leading industry. Logged-off land 
can be bought for $10 to $40 an acre with a 
small cash payment. Any energetic man with a 
little capital can establish a profitable dairy farm 
on such land and make money by purchasing forty 
acres, clearing five acres, with thirty-five acres in 
stumps burned over and sowed to grass. A settler 
can begin thus and, perhaps, have a second forty- 
acre tract in reserve to develop after the first is 
under control. 

Timothy hay is an important crop on the flat 
land. The d^^ked land comprises 40,000 acres on 
which grain and seed yields constituting world's 
records are made. 

Snohomish County whose principal seaport 
and county seat is Everett, a manufacturing and 
railroad city of 40,000 population strategically situ- 
ated as to water and rail transportation, has three 



34 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




One of the twelve milk condensing plants in Washington. The State leads all others in the production of condensed milk 
at the same time supplying a splendid market for the dairyman 



transcontinental railroads, steamer service to all 
points, and intenirban trains to Seattle. 

Everett is appropriately called the "Smokestack 
City" by reason of its large liamber and shingle 
manufacturing plants, steel ship yards, wood pulp 
paper mill, iron works, fish canneries and varied 
manufacturing industries and railroad shops. A 
fruit and vegetable cannery is being established at 
Everett to manufacture jellies, fruit juices and 
canned fruit. 

There are 128 lumber and shingle mills in Snoho- 
mish County. The lumber output in the Everett 
mills alone is 3,000,000 feet daily. 

Snohomish, 5,000 population, is the second in 
importance, and is situated at the head of naviga- 
tion on the Snohomish River and is served by three 
trans-continental railroads and an interurban line 
to Everett. Other important towns are Monroe, 
Arlington, Sultan, Marysville, Granite Falls, 
Edmonds, Index and Skykomish. 

The fertile valleys of the Snohomish, Skykomish 
and Sultan rivers produced record yields of fruits, 
vegetables and diversified crops. Dairying is the 
principal agriclutural industry. There are three 



large milk condensers at Monroe, Stanwood and 
Snohomish, whose canned product goes to near 
and distant markets in carload quantities. There 
are 16,000 cows in the county, and room for several 
times as many. The county has a remarkable 
pasturage record, being strong and continuous 
throughout the year. The Snohomish County Farm 
Bureau working with the county agricultural agent 
has a representative from every farm organization 
and district in the county. 

Blackberries, cherries and pears are very profit- 
able. Blackberries average 6,000 poimds, and 
frequently as high as 10,000 pounds, to the acre. 
A man can make a fine living on a ten-acre tract of 
berries and other small fruits. There has never 
been a failure in the raspberr>^ crop in the past 
twenty-five years. The rolling uplands are in a 
logged-off condition and adapted to pasturage, fruit 
and intensive agriculture. There are 400,000 acres 
of good farm land in Snohomish County within 
twenty to thirty miles from the large Seattle market, 
and not over one-tenth of this area is as yet devel- 
oped. Land prices for small tracts, cleared and 
close to transportation and towns are $250 to $300 



35 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




Dairy conditions of Washington are particularly desirable and profitable owing to the mild climate, good water and pastures 



an acre, and for raw, uncleared uplands, $20 to $80 
an acre, according to location. 

King County of which Seattle is the county 
seat, may be said to be the home of the small farm, 
the average size being less than forty acres. Dairy- 
ing, small fruits and gardening by intensive methods 
are the chief farming pursuits. The producers 
enjoy the advantage of the large near-by Seattle 
market, with its excellent transportation facilities 
to all parts of King and other counties. 

This county has 25,580 milch cows and dairying 
is the principal agricultural industry in King County 
and throughout the Puget Sound countr>\ An 
average of $10 a cow, for every month in the year 
is a very conservative return in this favored climatic 
region. Holsteins are the favorite dairy cow. 
Pure-bred cattle from this region have taken highest 
premiums and have wonderful milk production 
records. Mild, temperate winters, cool, ideal sum- 
mers, inexhaustible sources of pure fresh water, 
are contributory factors to successful dairying. 

Truck gardening is profitably followed on the 
fertile bottom lands between Seattle and Tacoma 
and Everett. 

Poultry is a coming industry'. The world's 



champion hen, a white Leghorn, bred at Kent, 
produced 311 eggs in 365 days, breaking the wrold's 
record. Many large, modern poultry farms as well 
as numerous small ones are being profitably con- 
ducted with an ever ready market at good profit. 

Mines in King Coimty produce coal by train 
loads, daily, which is consumed locally and is 
exported to California and also used by coastwise 
and foreign steamers. 

Seattle has a large Union Stock Yards and two 
large meat packing plants. Live-stock, including 
pork, has to be imported from western states as 
the state production is far under the demand. 
Only 10 per cent of the pork products consxmied 
within the State are produced here. 

Pierce County is the third county of the State 
in population, wealth and business. It has the 
greatest variety of elevation of any county in the 
United States, varying from tide water to Mount 
Rainier in the southwestern part, 14,408 feet. 
The climate and topography are similar to 
Southern England. The population is 175,000, of 
which 125,000 are in the city of Tacoma. the 
county seat and third largest city in the State. 
Tacoma has a fine harbor with large ocean docks, 



36 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




,.^,„ 



P II :mm m'^^^^ ^m^ ^ 



■■ r^t^-.^- 



The larger cities and towns in Washington furnish a ready market for poultry products. 
Poultry will furnish a good, steady cash income 



and a large high school with a stadium of 30,000 
capacity. Camp Lewis the noted western United 
States cantonment of about 70,000 acres is just 
outside of Tacoma. Out of a land area of 1,000,640 
acres, there are 323,220 acres in National Parks and 
Forest Reserves; 57,075 acres are in state and other 
reservation lands. In farm area 160,000 acres are 
occupied, of which 45,000 acres are improved. 
Land prices vary, depending upon location to 
near-bv cities and soil depth. Prairie land sells 
for $15 to $75 an acre; logged-off land, $20 to $50, 
when cleared $100 to $300. River bottom land sells 
for $200 to $500 and as high as $1,000 when exten- 
sively improved. This land is highly developed and 
especially adapted to berry growing. The soil is 
varied. The largest area is mostly alluvial muck 
loam and rich with decayed vegetation. The depth 
is one to twenty feet with clay or sandy subsoil 
and no hardpan. 

The average length of the growing season is 
249 days. One-half of the rainfall occurs between 
November and February. There is very little rain 
from July to October. Improved highways total 
1,700 miles. Ocean-going craft regularly take 
export cargoes to the Orient and other world 
ports. 



Pierce County has nearly ten billion feet mer- 
chantable timber and a coal production of 800,000 
tons annually. It is one of the most successful 
berry-growing regions in the world with facilities for 
marketing through co-operative associations and 
canneries. Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, 
loganberries, gooseberries, and currants lead in 
production. 

Thurston County with its thousands of acres of 
logged-off uplands, bottom lands, and prairies not 
yet developed, offers exceptional opportunities to 
homeseekers interested in agricultural and horti- 
cultural pursuits. Large areas of the gently rolling 
logged-off uplands await the clearing up process to 
convert them into productive farms. Forage crops 
grow luxuriantly and dairying has established a 
permanent place for itself. Small fruits are rapidly 
increasing in extent. The land and soils are well 
adapted to this branch of fruit growing, and owing 
to the large cannery' at Olympia it is popular and 
profitable. The bottom lands comprising the river 
valleys and old lake beds are very fertile. When 
drained, all crops do exceedingly well and here are 
located the largest dairy farms. Grain and truck 
farming are extensively practiced on these tracts. 



37 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




A prune orchard in Southwestern Washington. The State produces millions of pounds of dried prunes annually 



Some of the characteristic farm yields are as follows: 
Oats, 150 bushels an acre; peas, 30 to 40 bushels; 
potatoes, 200 to 300 bushels; mangels, 40 to 60 tons 
an acre. Three to four thousand acres of equally 
as good land are lying idle owing to the lack of 
adequate drainage. 

Olympia is the county seat, the capital of the 
State, and the head of navigation on Puget Sound. 
There are two railroads and necessary steamer 
routes connecting it with other parts of the State. 
A Thurston County Farmers' Organization has been 
granted the exclusive right to furnish milk and 
vegetables to Camp Lewis, sixteen miles from 
Olympia, in Pierce County, one of the largest canton- 
ments established by the Government as a result of 
the war. 

SOUTHWESTERN WASHINGTON 

Southwestern Washington includes that portion 
of the State west of the Cascade Range of moun- 
tains, south of Olympia to the Colimibia River, and 
west to the Pacific Ocean. Thus it extends in 
altitude from sea level to the summit of the Cas- 
cades at the eastern boundary^ line of Lewis County. 

Some of the most famous beaches are to be found 



on the coast of Pacific and Wahkiakum counties. 
This area is generally noted for the remarkable 
fertility of its soil and the settlers who have engaged 
in agricultural pursuits for many years in South- 
western Washington find that it is an ideal country 
for the growing of grain and grass for dairying pur- 
poses and small fruits and vegetables. Some of the 
larger vegetables on exhibit at the fairs, land shows, 
etc., in the Pacific Northwest are grown in South- 
western Washington. 

The area consists of Clark, Cowlitz, Klickitat, 
Lewis, Pacific, Skamania, and Wahkiakum counties. 

Clark County has an area of 600 square miles; is 
watered by the south fork of Lewis River and Wash- 
ougal River. It is one of the oldest and best im- 
proved counties in the State, and is an extensive 
farming section. The country slopes gently back 
from the river, rising to rolling foothills. 

While it has always ranked high in stock raising 
and dairying, prunes, pears, cherries, and berries 
are leaders. Soil and climate are well adapted to 
the growing of walnuts and filberts. The county 
produces annually 10,000,000 pounds of dried prunes. 
Three large prune-packing plants are located at 
Vancouver, Wash., as well as one of the largest 
fruit and vegetable canneries in the State. The 



38 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 





'*,.^P^ 



:'«^.':l'^jj*->t 




>>-. 



Sheep grazing in Southwestern Washington. Mild climate and good p.iaiurc^ tii,il>lf 

Every farm should have a flock of sheep 



ep lo graze practically the entire year. 



products of these plants go to all of the United States 
and foreign countries. 

In dairying it is rated as fourth in the State in 
number and value of milch cows. The average 
yearly production is 8,640,000 gallons of milk. 
Portland creameries, being located conveniently 
near, draw heavily on Clarke County for cream. 

Onions, potatoes, and all other root crops are 
grown successfully. Soil is of sandy loam along the 
lower lands, and the uplands are fertile from natural 
formations of decayed vegetation. The rainfall is 
abundant and sunshine supplies all that is required 
for prolific plant life without irrigation. Timber 
resources are its greatest commercial asset. Saw- 
mills are thickly located throughout the county, 
the value of output running into millions of dollars. 

The county is provided with ample transporta- 
tion facilities. There also is daily steamboat ser- 
vice between Portland and The Dalles, Oregon, 
touching at all Columbia River towns. Inter- 
urban electric trains penetrate a portion of the 
central part of the county. 

Vancouver with a population of 20,000 is the 
county seat. It is on the Columbia River, six 
miles distant from Portland, being connected with 
that city by the Interstate Bridge over the Columbia 
River, a part of the Pacific Highway. 



Camas, located in the eastern part of the county, 
has a population of 1,600. Large paper and pulp 
mills are located here employing 800 people. 

Cowlitz County is about midway in the valley 
between the Cascades on the east and the lower 
coast range on the west. The general slope is 
southwest toward the Columbia River, to which it 
is drained, chiefly through the Cowlitz and its 
tributaries, the Cowlitz River being one of the largest 
in the State. 

The eastern part of the county is occupied by the 
foothills of Mount St. Helens, while the remainder 
is composed of rolling and flat agricultural lands. 

In this county is located the Columbia Forest 
Reserve of 60,800 acres. The unreserved govern- 
ment lands, designated as timber and agricultural, 
amount to 4,470^ acres, and the state, school, and 
grant lands aggregate 72,481 acres. There are in 
the hands of private owners nearly 600,000 acres, 
of which 80 per cent is tillable. 

Fruits, berries, vegetables, and grain grow readily 
and reach a high degree of perfection. Unimproved 
lands sell for $10 an acre and up. Improved lands 
bring higher prices. There are still nearly 300,000 
acres of thickly growing timber in the county. 
This and the rich farm lands constitute the main 



39 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




Cabbage on logged-off land — note the size of the heads. The cut-over land is inexpensive and very productive 



resources, lumbering being the principal industry, 
with dairying and fishing gradually increasing in 
importance. 

Kalama is the county seat, with a population of 
1,500, an altitude of twenty-one feet, and the loca- 
tion of three state fish hatcheries. 

Klickitat County is a long, rather narrow strip of 
coimtry lying in the south-central part of the State; 
has a total area of 1,168,000 acres, of which 32,000 
are in the Columbia Forest Reserve and 65,280 in 
the Yakima Reservation. Approximately 900,000 
acres are in private ownership. About half of this 
is in farms, but only one-quarter improved. 

The county is divided into an agricultural and a 
horticultural section. The western part, comprising 
the White Salmon and Klickitat valleys, is across 
the Columbia River from the famous Hood River 
Valley of Oregon. The lands are mountainous and 
rolling, covered with fir and pine. Many plateaus 
and small valleys have been developed into all kinds 
of diversified farming. 

Climatic and air drainage conditions have favored 
this section in growing all kinds of fruits and berries, 
chiefly apples, pears, peaches, cherries, and straw- 
berries. The famous White Salmon Valley and 



Klickitat Valley fruit is well known in all parts of 
the world for its delicious flavor. 

Soil is volcanic ash on the lower levels; on the 
upper land, red shot loam, in some sections there 
being some clay and black loam. Climate is ideal, 
the rainfall averaging from thirty to thirty-five 
inches. Dry farming is usually practiced, the 
moisture being sufficient to produce excellent crops 
without the aid of irrigation. 

The county is watered by the White Salmon 
River on the western boundary and the Klickitat 
River flows into the Columbia River in the central 
part. These rivers offer great possibilities in devel- 
oping electrical power and irrigation systems. 
Already two electrical power generating plants are 
in operation on the White Salmon River, supplying 
light and power to the near-by towns, as well as 
Vancouver, Wash., and Portland, Ore., a distance 
of seventy-five miles. 

The upper portion of the White Salmon Valley 
naturally subdivides into fertile sections known as 
Trout Lake and Camas Prairie. This district has 
made much progress in dairying. Upwards of 
100,000 head of sheep are ranged annually in the 
forest reserve land. 



40 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




Logged-off farm land in Washington. Note the excellent rolling country and plent\ ot uoocl tor fuel and buildings 



The eastern portion of the county, beginning at 
Goldendale, extending eastward, is chiefly devoted 
to farming. The land is rolUng, with little timber. 
Upwards of 1,000,000 bushels of grain are harvested 
annually. Great opportunities offer in developing 
irrigation and much may be expected in this line. 

In the live stock industry, hog raising pre- 
dominates by reason of natural conditions, making 
it possible to grow the feed necessary for fattening, 
and sheep raising has long been profitable. 

Many small towns and settlements are scattered 
throughout the county, chiefly among them being 
Goldendale, county seat, population 2,000; Wliite 
Salmon, population 800; and Lyle, population 300. 

The county is well provided with schools, com- 
mercial clubs, fruit growers unions and farmers 
granges. 

Lewis County extends from the summit of the 
Cascade Mountains on the east to the divide 
between the Cowlitz Valley and the Pacific Ocean 
slope on the west, containing 2,369 square miles. 
The climate is exceptionally mild, both in winter 
and summer, due to the Japan Current. 

Berry canes, small fruit trees and bushes make a 
continuous growth through the winter months, and 
the exceeding mildness of the climate is accountable 
for the numerous fir and cedar trees in the forests. 



The fertile valley and hill lands raise excellent 
fruits, and berries are unsurpassed. Potatoes and 
all root crops make a heavy yield. Oats, barley 
and all grasses grow luxuriantly, affording ideal 
conditions for dairying, poultry raising and other 
lines of farming. There is yet room, in Lewis 
County's two million acres, for a thousand more 
dairy and poultry farms. 

There are several kinds of soil in Lewis County. 
Near the rivers the valleys are a sandy loam. On 
the up-lands and hills a fertile clay loam and in the 
eastern part of the count>', approaching the moun- 
tains, the soil is a volcanic ash and very fertile. 

The National Forest Reserve contains 483,880 
acres. The private timber lands are approximately 
500,000 acres, holding nearly twenty billion feet of 
merchantable timber, while the reserves have been 
estimated to contain an equal amount. 

The cut-over land can be purchased for $5 
to $15 an acre and up. Land clear of stumps and 
level, and variously improved, sells at from $50 
to $300 an acre. Products quickly reach a ready 
market, and large canneries preserve the surplus 
fruit for future sale. 

Chehalis, 8,000 population, is the county seat, 
on an altitude of 188 feet, while Centralia, two 
miles distant, has a population of 11,000. 



41 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




A prosperous farm in Southwestern Washington. Good crops are grown here without irrigation eind crop failures are unknown 



Pacific County is most southern in the tier of 
counties facing the Pacific Ocean. It surrounds 
Willapa Bay, and extends eastward to the head- 
waters of the streams which flow into it. The 
land area in the county is 895 square miles. Of the 
572,800 acres of land within the county, 41,921 acres 
are state lands while the remainder, excepting a few 
acres of Government land, has passed into the hands 
of private owners. 

Not included in the above area, there are in 
Willapa Bay and its tributary rivers, about 25,000 
acres of rich tide lands, suitable for agriculture, 
and 15,000 acres of oyster grounds. Of the other 
lands not more than 50.000 acres are in farms. 
Altogether, about one-half of the county is suitable 
for agriculture, either timber land or bench land. 

The peninsula forming the western boundary of 
Willapa Bay is flat and low, and contains between 
three and four thousand acres, adapted to cranberry 
culture, an industry which bids fair to increase in 
importance. The largest developed cranberry bogs 
on the Pacific Coast are at Ilwaco. There are 
near-by also, the largest area of undeveloped bogs, 
including several thousand acres within a few 
hundred yards of one of the finest ocean beaches in 
the world and a place which furnishes industry 



for the settlers, as well as an ideal summer resort. 

The soil in the valleys is a rich sandy loam. On 
the benches it is a black loam, comprised largely 
of accumulated vegetable decay. It is from one 
to fifteen feet deep and has a subsoil of yellow or 
blue clay. Unimproved land may be purchased 
at prices ranging from $10 to $15 an acre. Improved 
it would cost from $100 to $250 an acre. 

The chief resources in the county are its heavy 
timber, its oysters and salmon fisheries and its 
fertile dairy and truck gardening land. About 
350,000,000 feet of lumber are manufactured yearly, 
while the standing timber amounts to about thirteen 
billion feet. The annual revenue from the oyster 
business in Pacific Coimty is $1,000,000 and from 
salmon fishing, $150,000. Dairying and truck 
gardening each produce about $100,000 a year. 

Rail and water transportation provide ample 
facilities for present needs of the farmers of the 
county. County roads, good at all seasons of the 
year, extend in various directions. 

The main products enumerated are sold in the 
markets of the world, while Raymond and South 
Bend consume practically all the dairy and farm 
products at the present time. 

Skamania County is in the heart of the ever- 



42 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




Salmon fishing in the Pacific Northwest. Fishing is the principal industry in some of the coast counties 



green Cascade Mountains. It slopes from Mount 
St. Helens and Mount Adams, southward to the 
Columbia River, which bounds it for forty miles 
on the south. Much of the country is mountain- 
ous, covered with dense fir and pine forests. Of 
the entire area of 1,078,400 acres, the Government 
has taken 868,500 acres into the Columbia and 
Rainier National Forest Reserve. Much of the 
reserve contains choice agricultural land. 

Large areas of logged-off land is available, admir- 
ably drained and suitable for agriculture and fruit 
raising. 

Timber resources are its greatest commercial 
asset, sawmills being thickly located. The timbered 
areas can easily be converted into good yielding 
farms after the timber is logged off. 

Stevenson is the principal city, with a population 
of 500 people, and is the county seat. Other towns 
are, Carson, Cooks and Underwood. 

Wahkiakum County is in the southwestern part 
of the State, fronts on the Columbia River, giving 
it upward of thirty miles of shore line. Large areas 
of timber have been logged off, enabling the clearing 
of much of the bench and bottom land. 

The county contains a total of 170,880 acres 
and much of the land in the valley is improved. 



This region is particularly adapted to dairying,, 
which may be largely extended by clearing the 
rich muck bottoms and first bench lands in the 
already logged-off area. It is estimated there are 
30,000 acres of such lands. The up-lands are 
generally rich clay loam and sandy or gravelly 
loam adapted to growing all kinds of root crops. 

The rainfall varies from forty to sixty inches. 
In winter there is seldom freezing weather, while 
the summer temperature seldom exceeds 80 degi^ees. 

The chief industries in their order are: Lumber- 
ing, fishing, dairying and farming. There is room^ 
for considerable extension in these industries. 
Four salmon canneries are in operation during the 
fishing season with total normal pack of 200,000- 
cases canned salmon. There are several cooperative 
creameries. 

The movement of crops and other products is 
by passenger and freight steamers, which ply daily 
between Portland and Astoria touching at all 
river towns, which affords excellent transportatiort 
service. 

Principal towns are: Cathlamet, the county seat., 
population 400; Skamokawa, population 350. 
Other towns are, Oneida, Grays River, Deep River, 
Altoona, Brookfield, Pillar Rock and Roseburg. 



•13 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




Lumbering is an important industry in Washington and the State has the largest body of standing timber of any state in the Union. 
The ship timbers in this picture measured thirty-seven inches by seventy feet 



THE OLYMPIA PENINSULA 

The Olympia Peninsula comprises all of the 
counties of Clallam, Jefferson, Mason and a portion 
of Grays Harbor County, and lies between Paget 
Sound and the Pacific Ocean. It is very mountain- 
ous in character, and contains wonderful forests 
of fir and spruce. It is in many respects the most 
scenic district on the North Pacific Coast. The 
State has dealt most generously with road construc- 
tion plans in order that the wonderful scenery and 
natural resources might be available to the general 
public. 

In the extreme northwestern corner of Clallam 
Coimty (Cape Flattery) the annual precipitation 
is about 120 inches, while in the northeastern 
portion of the same county near the mouth of the 
Dungeness River in the district of which the town 
of Sequim is the business center, the annual precipi- 
tation is from nineteen to twenty inches, and 
irrigation has been practiced for more than twenty 
years past. Such paradoxical conditions are not 
easily explained in print, but must be seen to be 
appreciated. 

Mason Coimty has an area of about 900 square 
miles, with an average altitude in farming sections 



ranging from sea level to 100 feet elevation, and a 
population of approximately 10,000 people. Lum- 
bering is the main resource. There is upwards of 
six million feet of standing timber and the leading 
industry is logging, with a payroll of about two 
million dollars per annum. Dairying and stock 
raising are largely engaged in, in the districts back 
from the Soimd. Dairying and clam beds and 
fishing produce large revenues. Vineyards are 
located along the shores on the mainland and on 
Harstene and Stretch Islands, and thousands of 
baskets are shipped annually to Seattle, Tacoma 
and other markets, a grape juice plant being located 
in the grape growing section. The 1918 crop netted 
the growers from $300 to $500 per acre. Shelton, 
with a population of about 1,600, is the county 
seat. Other towns are Detroit, Allyn, Arcadia, 
and Matlock. 

Grays Harbor County, in Southwestern Wash- 
ington, contains about 820,000 acres, half the 
acreage being logged off and tillable, but only about 
29,000 acres are actually farmed. Logged off lands 
sell at prices ranging from $10 to $20 per acre, back 
from transportation, while nearer the towns, par- 
tially cleared lands sell from $100 to $200 per acre. 
More attention is now being given to farming. 



44 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 








I 



:.'>i,>»:s^?;t.; -■a«t^i.-?', 



Washington produces some of the best beef cattle in the country and good grazing land may be secured cheap 



There are some 9,000 head of live stock, with room 
for 100,000 head of dairy cattle, if full advantage 
were taken of the county's farming resources. In 
1917 the milk production was 592,391 gallons, with 
a value of $171,784.30; cream production 24,299 
gallons, valued at $36,652.60; making a total value 
in dairy products of $208,436.90. The county 
ranked fourth in milk and cream production in the 
State. 

In 1917 the county produced 195,000 bushels of 
potatoes from 1,300 acres, at a value of $179,400, 
and 160,000 bushels of oats valued at $129,600. 
General farming is as yet in its infancy in Grays 
Harbor County. Its agricultural growth is assured. 
There is one hundred billion feet of standing timber 
in this county tributary to Grays Harbor, which is 
being gradually logged off, and a large percentage 
of this land is ideal for pasture grass and, conse- 
quently, dairying. 

Oysters, crabs, and clams constitute large revenue 
producers, abounding in large quantities in the 
Grays Harbor and on the county's sixty miles of 
ocean beach. The Grays Harbor whaling station 
yielded, in 1912, a revenue of a half million dollars 
from 210 whales. 



The mean annual maximum temperature is 58.9 
mean annual minimum temperature, 41.2. 

Montesano is the county seat with a population 
of 3,500; Aberdeen, the metropolis, with a popula- 
tion of 20,000, and Hoquiam, two miles distant and 
connected by a trolley line, has a population of 
12,000. 

Grays Harbor County has adequate railroad 
transportation. 

Kitsap County has a population of 40,000 and 
about 225,000 acres of ideal available farm land of 
which 50,000 are now farmed. The soil is exceed- 
ingly fertile, berries, hay, and vegetables being the 
most prolific. It is of sandy loam and shot clay 
with occasional strips of rich alder bottom lands. 
There are some cranberry beds in this county. 
Unimproved lands sell for $15 to $75 an acre, while 
cleared lands bring from $100 to $500. The clearing 
of these lands costs from $75 to $200 an acre. All 
lands are within easy reach, scarcely more than six 
miles distant from harbors or market. The eleva- 
tion averages 100 feet above sea level, and prac- 
tically all of this county is surrounded by sea water, 
transportation to and from the county being by 
boat. 



45 



WASHINGTON— THE EVERGREEN STATE 




A typical pea field and uncleared section of a Washington farm. Stump land may be purchased cheap and when cleared will produce 

the best of crops 



Poultry raising and truck farming are practiced 
to great profit. Cattle, sheep, and hog raising are 
increasing. 

Port Orchard, at sea level, is the county seat, with 
a population of 1,500. 

The United States Government at Bremerton 
(the location of the Puget Sound Navj' Yard) has 
a permanent investment of $32,000,000 and employs 
6.000 people. It is the Pacific Coast naval base. 

Bremerton is the metropolis with a population of 
10,000, owning its own wharves. Kitsap County 
has the greatest number of miles of water frontage 
of any county in the United States, and numerous 
deep and well sheltered harbors. 

Clallam County, the most northwestern in the 
State, has 150 miles of water front, with numerous 
splendid harbors. The occupied lands, 62,240 acres 
according to the 1910 census— but 16,000 acres im- 
proved — lie chiefly along the Strait of Juan de 
Fuca and coast shores. Much of the county is 
rugged and mountainous, and all has been heavily 
timbered. The population is approximately 15,000. 
The soil is from one to ten feet in depth, particularly 
adapted to dairying, fruits, and berries, and ranges 
in price — imimproved from $10 to $50 an acre, and 
improved from $75 to $300 an acre. Rainfall 



ranges from 20 to 100 inches, the greater portion 
being in the southwestern corner of the county. 
The shores and inland lakes of the northern section 
are ideal for simmier and health resorts. 

Dairying is one of the principal industries. 
Clallam Coimty has railway and water transpor- 
tation. 

Port Angelus is the county seat with 6,000 popu- 
lation. Other towns are Sequim, around which 
general farming and dairying is done; Dungeness, 
the home of Dungeness crab; Port Crescent, a lum- 
bering, dairying, and general farming and fishing 
section. 

Jefferson County, lying between Puget Sound on 
the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west, contains 
about 2,000 square miles of land, a large portion of 
which is included within the area of the Olympic 
Forest Reserve. Its population is 16,000. The 
land is a rich deposit of organic soil in small deltas 
and valleys formed by the streams, and agricultural 
and dairy pursuits are very profitable, land values 
ranging from $10 to $50 an acre unimproved, and 
improved from $100 to $300 an acre. There are 
scarcely any limits to the possibilities for dairying 
and stock raising here. Pure water is abundant 



46 



U. S. RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 




The irrigated district of Northwestern Washington. Note the canal in the lower part of this picture 



everywhere, and thousands of horsepower are 
undeveloped up to the present time. 

This county is served with twenty-six miles of 
railroad. Navigation companies operate between 
this, Island County and Seattle, and Bellingham. 

Port Townsend is the county seat, with a popu- 
lation of 6,000, located on Quimper Peninsula at 
the entrance of Puget Sound, and is a base for 
United States coast artillery revenue cutter service, 
marine hospital service, quarantine and hydro- 
graphic service, and has large salmon canneries, a 
fertilizer manufacturing plant, sawmill and numer- 
ous wood working plants, including boat works. 

Chimacum is a wonderful dairy section and the 
location of one of the famous registered Holstein- 
Friesian herds of cattle. 

Progressive men, looking for a new home, will bear 
in mind the important fact that Washington is not 
a ONE-crop State; that it produces a great diversity 
of crops ; that climatic conditions are, on the whole, 
excellent; that opportunities in the United States 
are not excelled in any country in the world, 

Washington offers special opportunities that you, 
for your own best interests, should investigate. 



Vacation Outings 

in the 

National Parks 

"The Nation's Playgrounds" 

Your National Parks are a vast region of peaks, 
canyons, glaciers, geysers, big trees, volcanoes, pre- 
historic ruins and other natural scenic wonders. 

VISIT THEM THIS SUMMER 

for fishing, mountain climbing and "roughing it." 

Ask for descriptive illustrated booklet of the 
National Park or National Monument you are spe- 
cially interested in— here is the list: Crater Lake, 
Ore.; Glacier, Mont.; Grand Canyon, Ariz.; Hawaii; 
Hot Springs, Ark. ; Mesa Verde, Colo. ; Mt. Rainier, 
Wash.; Petrified Forest, Ariz.; Rocky Mountain, 
Colo.; Sequoia, Cal.; Yellowstone, Wyo.; Yosemite, 
Cal., and Zion, Utah. 

Address 

Travel Bureau, U. S. Railroad Administration 

646 Transportation Bldg., Chicago, 111., or 

143 Liberty St., New York City, or 

602 Healy Bldg., Atlanta, Ga. 



47 



WASHINGTON THE EVERGREEN STATE 




A fruit-growing district of Washington. Good soil, climate and water and the protection from killing frosts assure the farmer of an 

abundant crop of apples and other fruits each year 

ISSUED BY 

United States Railroad Administration 
AGRICULTURAL SECTION 

J. L. EDWARDS, Manager 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 

FOR THE USE OF ALL RAILROADS 
IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON 

For Further Information, address 



ramo Mcnallt a c*. 

CMKwae 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

I'lllllll llllfllllll^lll' 



003 220 577 A 



y 



